Wishes Do Come True
by TwilightandRobsten
Summary: Bella and Edward were high school sweethearts. One decision pulls them apart. When they're given the chance to fix what was broken, do they take it or let it slip?
1. College

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first story on and it's been reedited and (hopefully) made better. Special thanks to my beta Amanda and I hope that you enjoy. **

**All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

"Edward, you've got to make a college decision." I told him and nudged his shoulder. We were sitting at my kitchen table, surrounding by acceptance letters.

"_We've_ got to make a college decision." He said, leaning towards me for a kiss. I gave him one and leaned away before we got distracted.

"Which ones do you have?" I asked. I knew that Edward had been accepted into the best colleges. He always got straight As and his GPA had to be over a four point oh. I, on the other hand, was totally average. I got mostly Bs and Cs and, if I was lucky, an A. My GPA was a three point four. I knew that Edward's college acceptances would be from colleges that were much better than mine. My dad, Charlie, had been trying to prepare me by saying that Edward and I would have to go other ways. I'd always known that but Edward was so stubborn and wanted to go to college with me.

"I got Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Chicago, Duke, Brown, Berkley, and Washington State. How about you?"

"Washington State is the only one we have in common." I said, simply. I didn't feel like telling him all of mine after hearing all of the colleges that wanted him that would never want me.

"Well, then Washington State it is." I looked at him, watching his expression. I could tell that he was a little bit disappointed because it had always been his dream to follow in his dad's footsteps and go to Dartmouth but he was settling for Washington State. For me. It made me absolutely sick.

"Edward," I whispered, reaching out to touch his cheek. He leaned his face into my hand and I looked him in the eye. "Pick a different one. We both know which college you want to go to. Don't let me stop you from achieving your dreams."

"You're not stopping me."

"I am. I'm holding you back from doing what you really want." Edward sighed and turned back to the letters, organizing them. I grabbed our cups and stood up, placing them into the sink. I stood behind Edward and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Go to Dartmouth." I whispered into his neck.

"But, what about you? I can't lose you, Bella." He whispered back.

"You won't lose me. I'll be here at Washington State. We'll call each other every day and see each other on the holidays and we'll have all summer together. We'll be fine."

"You promise?"

"I promise, Edward. We'll be alright." I whispered. He turned his face towards mine and kissed me. Edward's cell phone rang just as we heard Charlie's police cruiser pulling into the driveway. We both sighed and pulled apart. "I love you." I reminded him. He cracked a small smile but his green eyes sparkled and I knew how much those three words affected him.

"Love you, too, beautiful Bella." He said just as Charlie walked in. Edward reached for his phone and put it to his ear. "Yello?" he answered and I smiled.

"Hey, Bells. What's got that big ole smile on your face?" Charlie asked, smiling when he saw me smiling.

"Nothing." I said, turning to the fridge. "Do you want dinner, Dad?"

"I can get my own, Bells. I'm not a baby."

"Alright," I smiled. "Just don't burn down the house."

"Ha ha." He said with a straight face. I just laughed and walked into the family room where Edward was sitting on the couch, talking on the phone.

"Okay, Alice. We'll be there as soon as we can. 'Kay, bye." He hung up and looked at me. "You wanna come over? Mom made dinner and you're both invited." I could hear Charlie in the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets. He was most likely looking for food that we didn't have and I didn't feel like making anything.

"Sounds good." I told him. We stood up and went back into the kitchen. Edward grabbed his bag and started stuffing his college letters into it. I walked him to the door and leaned against the door jamb while he kissed me.

"Come over soon?" he asked between kisses. I nodded and he kissed me again. "Bye."

"Bye." I said quietly, biting my bottom lip and smiling. Edward turned and walked out to his Volvo. As soon as I closed the door, Charlie was there, making fun of me.

"Bye, Edward." He said in a high pitched voice and batting his eyelashes. I laughed as I pushed my way past my dad and into the kitchen, picking up my own acceptance letters.

"Wanna eat at the Cullens's house for dinner?" I asked Charlie. He didn't answer until I turned around so that I could see him batting his eyelashes. He folded his hands together and put them under his chin, leaning onto the counter.

"Do we get to see Edward?" he asked in the high pitched voice. "I love Edward sooo much and we're going to go to college together and we're going to get married and have babies and live happily ever after."

"Shut up!" I giggled. God, my dad was so weird. He cleared his throat and actually talked normal.

"Sure, we can go to the Cullens's house. I haven't talked to Carlisle and Esme in ages. Let me just change out of my uniform and then we can go." He said. I nodded and he ran upstairs. Charlie and Edward's father, Carlisle, had gone to high school together and were best friends. Carlisle became a doctor and he's the best one in the entire state of Washington. When my parents and Edward's parents had settled down, it was a few streets away from one another. I grew up with Edward and his brother Emmett, and sister Alice. Alice and I were nearly inseparable and spent most of our time together. My mom left me and my dad when I was in fifth grade. That's when Edward stepped up and became my best friend.

Us getting together had been expected by both sets of parents. Edward and I had formed a close bond early on in our lives. When my mom left, I turned to Edward for comfort. He could read me so easily and made me feel better, no matter what was going on in my life. I remember the day that I started to notice him in a more than friend way. I was in eighth grade and my boyfriend, Jacob Black, had broken up with me at school. I remember Edward and me ditching class and him holding me while I cried. When I'd looked up, I was met by the most concerned and beautiful green eyes and I was done for. His eyes had always been my favorite part of him because of the way they sparkled. Edward and I became a couple later that year. I was pulled out of my thoughts by my father stomping down the stairs.

"Ready to go, Bells?" he asked, as he rounded the corner. He'd changed from his uniform into a short sleeved gray shirt, covered by a long sleeved plaid, flannel shirt and jeans.

"Yep, let's go." I followed Charlie out to the cruiser and got into the passenger seat. Charlie was in a good mood because he decided to embarrass me. As soon as he started the car, he turned on the lights _and_ the siren. I sighed and hid my face in my hands while Charlie just laughed. It took us ten minutes to get to Edward's house. As soon as we pulled up, Esme, Edward's mom, came running out of the house.

"Bella!" she said as she pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back tightly. I thought of Esme as my mom since mine had up and left me. Esme was the woman in my life that I aspired to be and looked up to. She hugged and kissed Charlie before linking her arm in mine and walking with me to the house. I think that she could tell something was wrong because she patted my hand and led me to the porch swing. "What's wrong, Bella? Talk to your momma."

"It's nothing, Esme, really. Edward and I made final college choices today and he threw a fit again. I told him to go to Dartmouth but he's terrified that leaving will ruin us. I've been trying to assure him that everything will be okay but…"

"…but you can't see the future." She finished, knowing what I was thinking. She wrapped her arms around me and my head fell onto her shoulder. She rubbed my back as she thought of what to say. "You and Edward will be fine. It's his dream to go to Dartmouth but it's also his dream to be with you. You two were meant to be and I think that everything will work out, whichever way things happen."

"Thanks, Esme. I love you."

"I love you too, Bella Marie." She whispered into my hair. I hugged her for another minute until we heard Edward come out onto the porch. We both looked up and saw him walking out the front door.

"Hey, love."

"Hey." I said, standing up and taking my place by his side.

"Is everything alright?" he whispered to me. I nodded and Esme rushed us inside so that she could finish dinner. I saw Alice sitting in the living room and she rushed to greet me.

"Bella! I missed you so much!" she pretty much yelled as she flung herself into my arms. I smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"I missed you, too, Al. But… we saw each other a few hours ago." I pointed out. Alice shrugged her shoulders and laughed. Then, Esme came out of the kitchen and called us for dinner. We walked into the dining room and Edward pulled out my chair. I sat down and Charlie sat on my right. Before Edward could sit down, Alice slid into the chair on my left so Edward sat across from me, next to Emmett.

**[(o,o)]**

"Esme, that was delicious." Charlie said, leaning back in his seat and patting his full stomach. It had been six months since Edward and I had made final college choices, and, tomorrow, we'd be going our separate ways for a few months. We were having a final dinner as a "family" before we'd be splitting up. Emmett had graduated two years ago and was going back to Washington State with me. Alice, who'd skipped kindergarten and was in our grade, was going to New York to get into fashion and Edward was going to Dartmouth in New Hampshire.

I looked around the table, taking in the smiling faces of my family. It made my heart swell to see all of them interacting and enjoying our last meal together for a while. Tomorrow, I'd go with Edward's family to the airport to see him off. As it got closer, I got scared. I didn't want Edward to leave and forget about me. Then, I'd always shake it all off, knowing how much Edward loved me. I knew that we'd find a way to get through it. I felt Edward's foot hit mine under the table and I looked up at him. I could see my insecurities echoed in his beautiful green eyes. I winked at him and dragged my stiletto-clad foot (thanks to Alice), up his leg. He shivered and I did it again. Alice interrupted our moment when she leaned onto my shoulder.

"Oh, Bella! What am I going to do without you? I'm going to be in New York and you're going to be back here! What am I supposed to do without my best friend?"

"Come on, Al. I think you'll manage and it's only a few months, anyways. Before you know it, you'll be back here for winter break and we'll all be reunited. It'll be fine." I said. Charlie, Carlisle and Esme all nodded their heads as I made eye contact with Edward.

"We'll be fine." Edward echoed, rubbing his foot against my leg. I smiled and Esme excused us from the table. Edward grabbed my hand and we walked out back. In the backyard, he'd set out a blanket on the grass and he led me to it. He lit the surrounding candles and sat down on the blanket with me. I slipped off the heels Alice had given me and laid back onto the blanket, fanning my hair out above my head. Edward leaned back and propped himself on his left elbow so that he could face me. "I'm going to miss you…" he started. I put a hand to his mouth and stopped him from talking.

"Shh." I told him. "Let's just be here, together, in the moment. You and me, the way it's always been." He nodded and laid all the way back, looking up at the stars. Our hands found each other's in the darkness and our fingers effortlessly curled together. As we looked at the night sky, a shooting star flew by.

"Did you see that?" he whispered. "Make a wish." I squeezed my eyes shut and wished for the only thing that mattered.

_I wish everything with Edward will work itself out, no matter what._

"What did you wish for?" he asked, in a hushed voice. I turned my head to smile at him.

"I can't tell. If I tell, it won't come true, and it _has_ to come true." I insisted. He pulled me towards him and wrapped his arm around me, kissing my forehead.

"It's okay, love. I think I know what you wished for anyway."

**[(o,o)]**

"Bye, baby." Esme cooed, kissing Edward's cheek and then squeezing his middle. I smiled as she said good bye to her son. Alice's flight had already left about twenty minutes ago after a tearful goodbye and Edward's flight was about to board.

"Bye mom," he chuckled, kissing her cheek and giving her a hug. He gave Carlisle a hug and then turned to me. My eyes instantly filled with tears as I took in his appearance for the last time for a while.

"Oh, Bella," he whispered, pulling me towards him. I collapsed against his chest and cried. "Baby, baby, baby, it'll be okay. Remember, we'll call and text and Skype and we'll be together again for winter break. Everything will be alright."

"I know," I sniffled. "I'm just going to miss you… a lot."

"I'll miss you, too, beautiful Bella."

"Now boarding, flight 289, now boarding." A voice said, over the loud speaker. I tilted my head to look at Edward and saw my sadness reflected in his green eyes. Once again, we were on the same page. I pulled his head down to mine and kissed him, hard.

"I love you." I whispered between kisses. I could see his lip twitching into a smile. A tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. I moved my hands to hold his face, wiping his tear in the process.

"I love you, too." He promised, wiping my tears. I let him go and he kissed my forehead before turning back to his parents for another hug. He walked a few steps backwards, waving to us, before turning and walking to his terminal. Esme wrapped her arms around my shoulders as we watched our boy walk away.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Read and Review :)**


	2. Seven Years Later BPOV

**Okay, here's the reuploaded Chapter 2! This is where we catch up with Bella currently :)**

**Thank you to my AMAZINGGGGG beta Amanda and all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer!**

* * *

**Seven years later**

"Bells, we're going to be late! Would you hurry?" Charlie yelled to me. I sighed and pulled on my second shoe as I heard the patter of feet on the floor.

"Come on, Mommy! We gotsta go!" my son called to me as he ran down the hallway. I smiled and scooped him, up into my arms, planting kisses on his face. He cuddled into my arms and I grabbed my cell phone off of the dresser, heading downstairs.

"Bella!" my dad called again. I stomped down the stairs so that he'd hear me coming and know to stop yelling.

"Alright, Riley, Gramps is getting mad so we better get our coats on really fast." I told him, setting him down and grabbing his coat off the rack.

"Can we go fast like super heroes?" he asked, looking at me expectantly. I nodded and he rushed to get his coat on. "Done!" he shouted when he finished. I laughed and grabbed my black peacoat from the rack, putting it on over my blouse and pencil skirt.

"I'll be in the car," Charlie said, turning towards the door. I nodded and he crouched next to Riley. "You make sure that your mommy hurries, okay buddy?"

"Yes, sir." He replied, saluting. I busted out laughing while Charlie rolled his eyes and walked outside. I walked into the kitchen to get the brownies that I'd made the night before and was pulled by Riley. "Mommy! We gotsta go! I wanna see Uncle Jasper and Uncle Emmett," he said, pulling me towards the door. I ruffled his hair and opened the door for him. He ran to my Toyota and jumped into the back seat. I opened the passenger door and got in, balancing the brownies on my lap.

"Everyone buckled?" Charlie asked. I rolled my eyes; his ex-cop was kicking in. I snapped my buckle into place and Riley nodded in the rearview mirror. The ride to the Cullens's house was silent. Sunday dinners still happened all the time and we all showed up… well, almost all of us showed up. Edward hadn't shown up in years. I hadn't seen Edward since winter break of freshman year. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears so I shook my head and wiped under my eyes, just in case a tear had escaped. We pulled up to the Cullen house and Riley jumped out of the car.

"Uncle Emmett! Uncle Jasper!" he called as he ran up to the front door. The door flew open and Esme stood there with a big smile. Riley stopped for a second before running faster towards Esme. "Gamma!"

"Hello, my sweet boy." She said as he launched himself into her arms. Before you ask, no, Esme isn't Riley's biological Grandmother. Esme's always been like a mother to me and Riley's father and his family aren't in the picture so Esme's the closest thing he's got. I stepped up onto the porch and hugged Esme.

"Hey, Esme." I said, giving her a hug. She kissed my forehead and rubbed my back. Then, Charlie stepped up and I went inside to find everyone else. I could hear Riley in the family room with Emmett, Rose, Jasper, and Alice. Rosalie married Emmett a few years back and Jasper was Alice's new husband. They'd just been married a few weeks ago. I went into the family room and found Rose and Alice on the couch and Emmett and Jasper on the floor with Riley, playing XBOX. How my four-year-old son knew how to play XBOX was a mystery to me.

"Ugh," I moaned as I flopped down onto the couch between Rose and Alice. Rose pulled her fingers through my hair and I closed my eyes. I felt Alice reach out and squeeze me so I squeezed her back.

"What's wrong, Momma Bear?" Alice asked. I curled into a ball and put my head in Alice's lap. Rose moved closer to us and kept running her fingers through my hair.

"Parenting is so hard." I said into Alice's jeans. She was dressed casually today. She had on black skinny jeans and a light purple top. Her short, spiky hair had a headband in it and she was wearing the necklace that I'd given her a few years ago. Alice and Rose both laughed and I knew what they were thinking: You didn't _have_ to get pregnant. I sighed and cuddled further into Alice's lap. A few minutes later, I felt a small hand on my cheek.

"Mommy sleeping?" Riley asked.

"No, buddy, Mommy just needs Mommy time." Rose explained. I instantly sat up, knowing what "Mommy time" meant. I was about to get buzzed. There were three glasses of wine on the coffee table and I reached for mine, taking a few sips and setting it down.

"Dinner!" Esme called. Riley ran to the dining room while we all got up slowly, grabbing our drinks, and following him. I found Carlisle and Charlie already sitting at the table and I went over to my second father and gave him a hug and kiss. Then, I sat down at the head of the table, my usual seat. Riley sat next to me and scooted his chair closer to mine. I ruffled his hair and laughed as he swatted my hands away. I scooped mashed potatoes onto my plate and covered it with corn, grabbed a biscuit, some chicken, gravy, and cranberry sauce before making Riley's dinner. We all started eating and catching up. Esme and Carlisle informed us of the trip that they were taking in a few weeks. They were going to England to visit Carlisle's family. It sounded like so much fun. I'd always wanted to go to England but, being a single mother, I didn't know if I'd ever get the chance.

The doorbell rang while we were eating and Carlisle excused himself to answer it. Emmett continued with his story about how he got into a bar fight but I wasn't paying attention. Next thing I knew, Carlisle walked back into the dining room. He looked troubled and his eyes met mine. In that second, I didn't see anything but sorrow in his eyes. _Who could've been at the door? _I thought. My question was answered not two seconds later. Without thinking, I stood up quickly, banging my knee on the table. I gasped but that could've been written off as a reaction to hitting my leg. He was standing in the doorway, looking just as beautiful as he'd always looked. The room went silent and everyone turned to the door.

"Bella?" he asked in shock. He took a step into the dining room and I took a step back. He took another step forward and I backed up to the wall, furthest away from him. I didn't say anything to him; I didn't even acknowledge that he'd said my name. I was in shock, I was terrified, and, most of all I was heartbroken. The heart break got worse when the short blonde girl entered the room, wrapping her arm around Edward's waist and I saw the unmistakable lipstick stains on his cheek and neck. I'm sure the heartbreak was clear in my eyes. I hadn't taken my eyes off of him until she'd come in.

"Riley, come here." I whispered. He got up out of his seat and ran over to me, hugging my legs. I lifted him into my arms moved towards the side door. "Dad, can we leave?" I asked. He nodded and stood up.

"Thanks for dinner," Charlie said to Carlisle and Esme. "We'll call you." I rushed out the door and picked up my coat. I had noticed that Edward's eyes kept flashing between me and Riley. I got into the car and put Riley into the backseat. We both buckled our seatbelts and Charlie drove off before anyone could stop us. We didn't mention dinner for the rest of the night and I almost forgot about it. When I went to tuck Riley in, he'd yawned sleepily and sunk under the covers before saying anything. Then, he opened his mouth and said the last thing I suspected.

"Mommy, was that my Daddy?"

* * *

**Read it and Review pleaseeee :)**


	3. Seven Years Later EPOV

**Okay, so I'm going to say this right now: Edward is not Riley's father. I mentioned last chapter that 1) it's been 7 years since Bella and Edward have even seen each other and 2) Esme isn't Riley's biological grandmother.**

**Now that that's cleared up, I owe a lot to Amanda so thanks girrrrrrlllll 3 and all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer!**

**It's time to catch up with Edward!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**EPOV**

I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist, dripping water onto the floor. It was so strange being back in Washington. I hadn't been here for seven years and it was really surreal. Maybe I was just feeling like that because there was a chance I could bump into Bella on the streets. College changed our relationship for the worse and I regretted it every day. I missed Bella so much. Her hair, her eyes, her love; I had lost everything seven years ago. I can still vividly remember the hurt in her eyes on that last day. I could remember every word we'd spoken and they constantly ran through my head.

I sighed and walked to the dresser, pulling out my jeans and a pair of boxers. I slid them on and started digging for a shirt. The first shirt I pulled out was a light blue t-shirt and I slid it over my head. Then, I felt my girlfriend, Tanya, slip her arms around my waist. I rolled my eyes and broke out of her hold. Tanya and I had been dating on and off for a while. I wasn't in love with her but she was and easy lay and it helped that she was infatuated with me. She had begged to come back to Washington with me and I let her, just for the hell of it.

I had talked to Emmett before Tanya tagged along and he'd let something slip about Sunday dinner. I knew that my parents would've invited me if they knew I was in the area. Their anniversary was coming up in the next week and I figured that the best present would be to show up. I was really ashamed that I hadn't visited my parents more often. I could've moved back to Washington after I graduated but I really loved the East coast. Maybe if I would've moved back, Bella and I would still be together.

"I know what you're thinking, Eddie, but your parents will love me." Tanya said. I sighed and went along with it. Tanya didn't give a fuck about Bella.

"I'm sure they will." I lied. I think she realized that I hadn't been thinking about my parents.

"Come on, Eddie. You don't need to keep regretting everything that happened the last time you were here. I mean high school loves never last and you have me now." I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I was just trying to get Tanya to stop being annoying or maybe I was just so depressed that I needed to get my mind off of Bella but, the next thing I knew, I had Tanya pressed against the wall, kissing her lips. Her lips tasted sweet and it honestly felt good to kiss her. I needed to get my mind off of Bella and it felt so good, yet so wrong, to do. Tanya kissed me back hard and I knew that she'd been waiting years for me to forget about Bella.

"We have to leave soon." I told her, already knowing her answer.

"We have time." she said, kissing me again. I just disconnected my mind and let her kiss me. I didn't know what else to do.

**[(o,o)]**

"You ready?" I asked. Tanya nodded and I led her out to the car. I opened her door for her and she got in. I was still really confused about what had happened this morning. All I knew was that I kinda liked it. I felt free from Bella for the first time. It was scary but exciting at the same time. I would always love Bella and I'd known that since I was a kid because she was my best friend and I would always have a spot for her in my heart and in my life. But, maybe it was time for me to move on. I hadn't seriously dated for seven years and I had to admit that it _was_ a little bit ridiculous, especially since I was the one who broke up with her. Bella had always been a fast healer and I had no doubt in my mind that she'd moved on.

I ran around to my side of the car and got into the driver's seat. Tanya leaned over from the passenger seat and kissed my lips. That distracted me for a few minutes as I forgot my train of thought. Tanya surprised me by suddenly hopping over the middle of our seats and straddling me. My hands immediately went to her hips and I held her in place while she kissed down my neck. Her long, blonde hair hung around us, hiding us in our own world. The blonde was another reminder that she wasn't Bella.

Her hands ran across my shoulders and down my arms until she grabbed my hands. I was so distracted that I didn't notice until I was actually touching them, that she'd brought my hands to grab her boobs before replacing her hands on my shoulders. I moved my hands so that they were on her back instead. She shook her head and laughed as she kissed my neck again. Eventually, I had to lift her into her own seat so that we could get to my parent's house.

When we pulled up to my parent's house, I saw an unfamiliar car: a Toyota. It was parked right next to Emmett's Jeep and my dad's Mercedes. I shook my head. I figured it was probably Charlie, though it was unusual for him to drive anything other than his cruiser. Of course they would invite Charlie to dinner, I mean, he _had_ been like a second father to me. He's also my dad's best friend, I shouldn't have been surprised. I explained to Tanya so that she would know who the Chief was. Tanya could see me getting worked up and she tried to calm me down.

"Just because her dad came to dinner, doesn't mean that she's here. I mean, you left Washington, why wouldn't she?" Tanya asked, as if it was the most obvious thing ever. But I knew that she wouldn't voluntarily leave Forks. Forks was her home and, even though she used to complain, she'd always loved it. But, who knows, a lot could've changed in seven years. My life had sure changed. I got out of the car and went to Tanya's side to open her door.

Tanya grabbed my sweaty hand as I walked up to the door. I was suddenly nervous. What if Chief Swan hated me for what I did to Bella? Hell, I hated _myself _for what I did to Bella. I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer the door. When the door was pulled open, my dad stood behind it. I could hear Emmett's loud voice and lots of laughing, especially the Chief. His laugh was the loudest of them all. I couldn't hear Bella so Tanya had been right about Bella not being here.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked. I nodded and Carlisle pulled me into his arms. "How are you doing, son? It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has. I try to call dad but I don't always get put through." I explained.

"Oh, it's fine, son. At least you're here." He said. Then, he noticed that Tanya was standing next to me and his hands dropped to his side. "Who's this?"

"This is my girlfriend, Tanya. She wanted to meet the family."

"Oh! You probably should've mentioned this on the phone, sometime." He said. He looked at his shoes and mumbled something that sounded like "Could've warned her."

"You could've warned who of what?"

"Your… mother. She'll probably freak out on you, Eddie-boy." He said with a smiled. "Come in, come in. Hang up your coats and head into the dining room." I nodded my head and he disappeared into the other room. I took off my coat quickly, wanting to see my family, and leaving Tanya to fend for herself. When I walked into the doorway, I heard a bang and the silverware on the table clattered to the floor.

When I looked up, my gaze met the most beautiful brown haired girl that I'd ever seen; the only girl I'd ever loved. She looked the same but different at the same time—more mature or something. Her brown eyes sparkled with shock.

"Bella?" I asked. I was shocked as well. I took a step towards her and she took a step back. I took another step forward, partially reaching my hand out but she backed against the wall. She looked like a trapped kitten—full of fear but trying to act strong. A smiled tugged at my lips. Then, I felt an arm weave through mine, grabbing my hand. Tanya. Bella's eyes snapped to Tanya and then back to me. Her eyes had changed and she now looked broken.

"Riley, come here." She whispered. I looked away from her for the first time as a little boy hopped up from the table and ran to Bella. He hugged her legs and she lifted him into her arms. The little boy had Bella's hair; even the curls and he had the brightest green eyes. His face was what shocked me the most. He looked a bit like… me. That was the truth of it. He looked like me and I was confused. My eyes went from her to Riley over and over. "Dad, can we leave?" she asked.

Charlie said something back but I was still trying to comprehend what she'd said. _Leave? Leave. Leave!_ Holy shit, she was leaving! I snapped out of whatever haze I was in and started to rush to the door, hoping to catch her. By the time I ran out the front door, Bella and Charlie were almost out of the driveway. I dropped to my knees and cradled my head in my hands. I laid outside for a while until my mom came out to talk to me.

"Edward," she whispered, dropping down next to me. I picked my head up and looked at my mom.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I should've visited more often, I should've never stayed on the east coast, and I never _ever_ should've left. I'm so sorry that I never visit you." My mom shook her head and pulled my head to her chest.

"That's not what I was going to say, honey. I was going to ask you what you find so appealing about that young woman in there. From what I witnessed in there, your heart only beats for one person. Why are you wasting your time with a whore like that?" she asked. My mouth dropped open hearing my mom saying whore.

"She is kind of a whore isn't she?"

"Yes! She's not your type at all." She laughed. "You want to come inside and catch up with everyone? Your brother and sister have missed you, too." I nodded and we stood up, going inside.

"Hey brother!" Emmett yelled as I walked into the house.

"Hey, Em, it's been a while." I said, giving him a hug. Everyone was now in the living room and I was glad I didn't have to go back into the dining room. That room held too much Bella. The rest of the night went smoothly until I was alone with Tanya.

"That was Bella, wasn't it?" she asked as soon as we were on the main road back to the hotel. The way she said it sounded like she was accusing me of something.

"Yes."

"What's with her? Why is she so jumpy, like legit. They freaking left as soon as you got there. You didn't even get to talk to her."

"Why should she want to talk to me? I broke her heart and haven't seen her in seven years."

"She still shouldn't have run like that. And what was with the kid?"

"I… I don't know about the kid. I… should probably talk to Bella." I whispered.

"What?! You're going to leave your girlfriend and go talk to your ex-girlfriend about her baby? Why is it any of your business?"

"You and I are hardly in a relationship! We break up at least six times every year. I only come back to you for sex, Tanya!" I yelled, getting irritated. "I've known Bella for my entire life and, no matter what happened between us romantically, she's my best friend. And, I think that you need to go back east. I don't want you to be my girlfriend and I don't want you to be here."

"Fine. I'll book a ticket and leave tomorrow. But we both know that you can't stay away from me, Edward Cullen." She said, turning towards the window. The rest of the ride was silent and the rest of the night was silent too. When I woke up the next morning, she was gone and I knew I should feel bad but I didn't. I had work to do. I had to talk to Bella and apologize.

"Hello?" she answered. I smiled because, even though it'd been years, she still answered the phone the same way.

"Hey, sis." I replied. I heard her sigh and I could almost see her rolling her eyes. "I need Bella's number."

"Why?"

"I just… I need to talk to her."

"Edward, I don't know if she necessarily wants to talk to you."

"Why do you say that?"

"She might've given me instructions…"

"Alice, please. I want to talk to her as a best friend, not ex-boyfriend. I miss her." Alice sighed again and waited a little bit before taking a deep breath.

"If she kills me, Edward…" she said. I smiled triumphantly.

"Thank you, Alice!"

"Grab a piece of paper." She instructed. I told her once I had and she started talking again. "Okay, so I have specific instructions to tell you that her new phone number is _not_ 360-887-0913. I also can't tell you that she still lives with her dad. She asked me not to tell you that she works in Port Angeles at La Bella Italia. And I'm also not allowed to tell you that she goes to Sunday dinner every weekend. Is that enough information?"

"Yes, Alice. You're absolutely the best sister ever! Thank you." I told her.

"I know I am. Now, you better make some room for me in your schedule sometime soon."

"Deal. I don't think I'm going back to New Hampshire for a while. I need to set things right, here, first. Do you wanna maybe help me look for somewhere to stay?"

"I'll get on it, bro. Also, you might not want to talk to Bella, yet. Make sure that you know what to say to her before you just go to her house. If she feels like she's being backed into a corner, she won't talk and she'll run. It's the basic fight or flight instinct. Her first instinct will be not to let you into her life again so you need to take it slow with her so that she will listen to what you have to say." She told me. I nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "What happened to that girlfriend of yours?"

"Who, Tanya?"

"Yup,"

"We weren't really that serious…" I trailed off and Alice laughed.

"I can tell. She tried hitting on Emmett _and_ on Carlisle,"

"Yeah, well, we broke up last night. So, it's all good."

"Tell Mom that. And Rose, they're pretty pissed."

"Got it, Alice. Thank you. I love you." I told her.

"Shut up." She said, hanging up the phone. I dialed a new number and waited for the phone to be answered.

"Black and Clearwater, this is Jacob, how can I help you?" the voice of my oldest guy friend filtered through the phone.

"Hey, Jake."

"Hey, Ed. What's up, man? It's been a long time."

"Yeah, I need you to do me a favor, man."

* * *

**What do you think Edward has planned? Review :)**


	4. Flowers

**Now, we're back to Bella. And I'm going to say this once more: EDWARD CULLEN IS NOT THE FATHER OF RILEY SWAN! **

**Special thanks to Amanda, my beta, for being 100% awesome. All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

I'd told Riley that Edward wasn't his father and I couldn't tell his feelings on the subject. I couldn't tell whether or not he was upset. Riley had lived four years of his life, without a dad and it was something that we never really talked about. I knew that he saw my relationship with Charlie and wished that he could have one with his own father.

Charlie had told me that Riley always had questions about his dad. Charlie took Riley fishing every Sunday which was when they usually talked about it. Charlie didn't know who Riley's father was and that made answering questions a little bit more difficult. He always just passed along to Riley the same stuff I had told him when I became pregnant: Things happen certain ways for a reason, and he just wasn't meant to be a father to Riley. In my book, a man that doesn't claim a child and help raise it isn't its father. The one that cares for the child and loves the child and is what the child needs is who I count as the baby's father.

I could tell that Riley wanted to talk to me about his father. I knew that the day would come, sooner or later, when he wanted answers. He wasn't quite old enough to understand yet so I had to take it a bit slower. I planned to take Riley out, just him and me, and talk to him about his dad.

"Hey Ri," I said while he was sitting at the dining room table, making a castle out of blue Play-Doh. He looked up at me and smiled. "Mommy was thinking that maybe we could go out to dinner on Friday for a Mommy and Riley day." His face broke out into an even bigger smile.

"Mommy and Riley day? Yay!" I laughed and kissed the top of his head.

"Just pick something that you want to do and where you want to eat and I'll get off work and we can spend all day together, alright?"

"Okay," he said. He turned back to his Play-Doh, deep in thought and I stood up to go start dinner. "Mommy?" Riley called, drawing my attention back to him.

"What's up, bud?"

"I love you." He whispered, with his face turning red. I smiled and leaned down to give him a kiss.

"I love you, too, buddy. More than anything in the world."

"Even more than minty ice cream?"

"Even more than minty ice cream." I confirmed, giving him one more kiss before starting dinner.

**[(o,o)]**

On Wednesday, Charlie took Riley to daycare while I stayed home and looked through the newspaper for job opportunities. Being a waitress wasn't exactly my dream job. I'd always really liked business when I was in school but I had decided to major in Psychology. Big mistake. If you're thinking of majoring in Psychology but you don't want to be a psychiatrist, you're screwed. Want to know what jobs you can get as a psych major? Bartender, Twin Kiss worker, Truck Driver, or Waitress. I know what you're thinking: If you can't do anything with a psych major, why did you major in it?

Well, in high school I'd always really liked psychology. My plan had been to major in business but after my break-up with Edward, I more or less curled up in a ball and slept all day. I lost a lot of weight and Alice had to fly to Washington from New York and shove food down my throat. Even then, I had a hard time keeping it all down. Since I wasn't doing anything that had to do with school and psych had always come easy to me, it wasn't something that I would have to work hard on. So, I majored in Psychology so that I could easily stay in bed and still pass my classes.

I got pregnant with Riley in the middle of senior year. I tried to get a good job but I ended up at La Bella Italia. It was only a fraction better than working at McDonalds and that's only because it was fancier. Charlie took me under his wing and supported me, letting me stay with him instead of struggling to get by on my own.

I flipped through the newspaper, looking for jobs as I sat on the couch with a hot chocolate. I wasn't interested in any of the jobs that they had to offer. The doorbell rang and I gladly put the newspaper down to go and answer the door. When I opened the door, I was met by one of the La Push Indians. His name was Embry according to his name tag and he was familiar in some way.

"You Bella Swan?" he asked. I nodded and he turned towards his truck. The words _Black and Clearwater Floral _were written on the side of the truck_. _Black? As in, Jacob Black, Ed—_his_—friend from high school? And, didn't 'floral' mean flowers? Who would be sending me flowers? Embry returned with a bouquet of roses. I gasped, they were beautiful. When Embry handed me them, I brought them to my nose and smelled them. The roses were lavender and the prettiest flower I'd ever seen. "Here you go, have a great day." Embry said, leaving my porch.

"Who sent these?" I called after him. He shrugged.

"Sorry, doll, I just deliver them." I nodded and thanked him before going inside. I noticed a note tucked into the bouquet.

_**Thorn less roses indicate love at first sight. Thirteen roses mean a secret admirer. –Your secret admirer.**_

I read the note and smiled. Who could've sent these to me? I had one suspicion but I instantly put it out of my mind. He wouldn't send me flowers, especially with his new girlfriend. I got a vase out of the cupboard in the kitchen and filled it with water, placing the roses into it. I placed the vase on the island and walked upstairs to get my computer. I brought it down to the kitchen and opened it so that I could check my e-mail. I had a new one from Esme.

Bella, some girls were talking about an open secretary job at a large business in Port Angeles. If you're interested I can get info for you. Love you. –Esme.

I quickly e-mailed her back, saying that more information would be great. Not only was I looking for a job, but it was close to home and for a large business. I could work with that. I closed my laptop lid and started working at dinner, glancing at my roses every few minutes.

**[(o,o)]**

Thursday, Alice and Rose invited me out for a girl's night. They knew that I was planning on taking Riley out on Friday so we had to move our girl's night from Friday to Thursday. Alice and Rose were going to come over and help me get dressed since Alice didn't believe that I knew how to put clothes on. They came over at five and Alice instantly began poking and prodding me with her tools. Rose had gone into the kitchen for some coffee and came back in with one of my roses.

"Bella? Where did you get these?" she asked, smelling my precious Rose. I almost jumped out of the seat that Alice had me in.

"Put it back!" I nearly shouted. Rose widened her eyes.

"Bella boo, are those flowers from a boy?"

"I… I don't know. Just put it down, please." She looked at me suspiciously before walking back into the kitchen. Alice continued to do my hair and make-up when Rose sauntered back in.

"Thorn less roses indicate love at first sight. Thirteen roses mean secret admirer. From your secret admirer." I heard Rosalie read from the door way. I blushed a deep red and Alice stopped working on my hair to look me in the eye.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Those flowers are from a boy, aren't they?" Alice shouted. I ducked my head.

"I don't know, Alice! Do you think I know who my secret admirer is? The point of a _secret _admirer is that it's a _secret_! How the hell am I supposed to know who sent them?" Understanding washed across Alice's face and she broke into a wide grin.

"Do you know who sent them, Alice?" Rosalie asked. Alice pretended to zip her lips and throw the key away.

"You know who sent them and you aren't telling me?!" I asked. Alice shrugged and went back to work on my hair. I saw Rose set the note down on my side table. Luckily, Alice changed the subject and we didn't have to spend any more time talking about something that I knew nothing about. I was so excited for our girl's night. I felt like I never got enough time to talk to my friends. My point was proven when the doorbell rang again. I made Alice and Rose stay in my bathroom. I opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, Embry."

"Hey, Bella."

"Another delivery?" I asked. Embry smiled and turned towards the truck.

"Yup." He replied with a smile on his face. He went to the truck and pulled out more roses. These roses were a mixture of lavender and yellow roses. "Here yah go." He said, handing me the roses. I thanked him and closed to the door. I ran up the stairs and into my room, shielding the flowers from my friends. I wanted to see them first. I locked my bedroom door and pulled out the note in these flowers.

_**6 Lavender roses: the number of years you enchanted me. 14 Yellow Roses: I care about you and promise a new beginning for us. –E.**_

I stared at the last letter on the note for a long time. So long that Alice and Rose were banging on my door to make sure I was okay.

"Rose, can you get a vase and fill it with water, please?" I called to her.

"Sure, Bells." I heard her footsteps walk away and I opened my door and pulled Alice in. I knew that I had tears in my eyes but Alice's concerned face told me that they had fallen.

"What's wrong, Bella boo?"

"Alice, be honest, did you know about this?" I asked, showing her the note. She read it and looked up at me, guilt written all over her face.

"I knew he was going to do something, Bella, but I didn't know he was going to do this." She said. She reached out and hugged me, reaching up to wipe my tears off of my cheeks. "I just did your make-up." She mumbled. I laughed and sniffled.

"Guess we better fix that." I said, looking down at my feet. Alice grabbed me up in another hug before dragging me back to the bathroom. When Rose came upstairs with the vase, I just told her to get the flowers from my room and put them in the vase and leave it next to my bed. Rose, of course, saw the note and instantly connected the E to who it belonged to. When she came into the bathroom, she didn't say anything about the note but I knew that she knew.

As Alice finished up my hair, I heard the front door slam and small footsteps running across the hardwood floor.

"Mommy?" Riley called.

"Up here, bud." I called back.

"Mommy!" he yelled as he ran up the steps. I knelt on the ground and Riley ran right into my arms, squeezing me in a hug.

"Hi baby boy." I whispered as I kissed his head. I held him in my arms for a few minutes before he let me go and gave me a wet kiss on the lips. I tried to stand up but Riley wouldn't let me. He hugged my leg and wouldn't let me go. I knew how he got when he got into one of these moods. Whenever Riley ran to me when he got home from daycare and didn't let go, it always meant that he had a bad day. I knew that as soon as he found out I was leaving, he'd start with the waterworks and when my baby started crying, he usually got what he wanted.

"Riley," Alice said, ducking down to his level. "Mommy and Aunt Alice and Aunt Rosalie are going out to dinner tonight so you need to let go of Mommy so that she can get ready."

"No!" he said, holding onto my legs even tighter. I walked to my room and Riley ran behind me, right on my heels. "Mommy, I don't want you to leave!"

"I'm just putting some clothes on, Ri. It'll be okay." He nodded and hopped onto my bed, laying his head on my pillow and looking at the flowers.

"You gotsted more flowers?" he asked, while I was in my closet. I slipped a t-shirt over my head and slid sweatpants over my legs. I came out and went to sit on the bed with him. I sat up against the headboard and Riley crawled into my lap.

"Yeah, I got more. Do you know what color they are?"

"They purpa and yella."

"Yep they're purple and yellow."

"Bella, we have to go! We don't have time for you to be sitting around in sweats." Alice shouted as she walked down the hallway towards my room. She turned the corner and saw Riley cuddled up to me. "Oh, for the love of God! Rose, she's not coming!"

"What? Not coming?"

"Come look!" I heard Rose storming down the hall and she turned the corner and moaned, throwing her head back.

"Really Bella? You're such a pushover!" Rose complained. I shrugged and Riley just laughed. Alice stomped into my room and leaned over until she was eye level with Riley.

"You, sir, have a gift that few possess. If only you used your power for good!" Riley giggled and stuck his tongue out at Alice.

"Mommy love me more!" he bragged to his aunts and stuck his tongue out. This time I wasn't the only one to bust out laughing.

"Sorry, girls, but I'm gonna start Mommy and Riley day a little bit early."

"Fine, but you're coming to the club with us on Saturday—no exceptions!" Rose demanded. I nodded and blew them both kisses.

"Love you." I called after them.

"Love you guys, too!" Riley called right after I did.

"We love you too!" they yelled as they let themselves out.

Riley and I spent the rest of the night together. I made him chicken nuggets for dinner and we ate in the living room while we watched Jungle Book—Riley's favorite movie. After that, Riley laid his head on my chest and snuggled into me. We sat on the couch together and Riley told me about his day and I figured out why he was super cuddly. Someone in his class had been bragging about something that his parents had done for him and had said that he was the most loved kid in the world. That, of course, made Riley argue because I had always told him that _he_ was the most loved. The other kid decided to tell Riley that since he only had one parent, he wasn't loved as much.

Riley knew that it wasn't true but I didn't blame him for needing reassurance. When he fell asleep, I held my little angel in my arms and stroked his bangs out of his face so that I could see his face. Then, I twisted my fingers in his curls, stroking his scalp with my finger pads. He sighed in his sleep and I continued to hold him in my arms. Charlie came home sometime around ten thirty and made me take Riley upstairs so that we could both go to sleep. I changed him into his pajamas without disturbing him. I couldn't stand to leave him so I carried him to my room. I laid him down onto the bed and got ready for bed. When I got into bed, I pulled him to me and kissed the top of his head. He awoke a little bit and cuddled closer to me.

"I love you Riley Peter." I whispered into his hair.

"Love you… Momma." He yawned. I smiled and fell asleep with my angel in my arms.

* * *

**I love Riley so much! Next up, Mommy and Riley day!**

**Review :)**


	5. Mommy and Riley Day

**It's time for Bella and her son to have a little bonding time! Thanks to my beta Amanda for a lot of things! All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Mommy, wakey wakey." I heard as I started to wake up. My eyes fluttered open and I saw the green eyes of my gorgeous son. A smile instantly broke out on my face. "It Mommy and Riley day." He told me, matter-of-factly.

"Yep it is. Is Grandpa Charlie still here?"

"Yeah, he down there and he got that yucky brown stuff for you." Riley told me, making a face and sticking his tongue out. Coffee wasn't Riley's favorite smell in the world. I stretched and got out of bed, reaching for Riley. I lifted him into my arms and he wrapped his arms in a strong hold around my neck. I walked downstairs and set Riley at the table, making him a bowl of cereal. I got a coffee as Riley ate his food. When Riley was almost done, I heard Charlie's shoes on the steps.

"Good morning, Isabella Marie." Charlie sang as he walked into the kitchen. I looked at him, confused by his singing voice.

"Uh… morning?"

"Hey, Riley, can you go upstairs for a second so I can talk to Mommy?" Charlie asked. Riley looked at him suspiciously. He slowly got up and walked to me.

"Can I go upstairs Momma?" he whispered into my ear. I nodded and he kissed my cheek before running upstairs.

"What's up dad?" I asked. He smiled and I knew I was about to be teased.

"Well, darling daughter, I was woken up this morning by the doorbell. Some guy named Embry was here…" he paused when I gasped. I knew what must have happened and my face burned bright red.

"Where are they?" I asked, running into the foyer, looking for my flowers. They weren't there and I spun on my heel to find out where they were.

"They're in the living room…" he started. He didn't get to finish because I had already left the room. I walked into the living room and saw the flowers in another vase. I ran over and looked for the note but didn't see it. I tried to convince myself that I had wanted to see the note so that Charlie didn't get his hands on it but even I knew that I just wanted to see what today's roses meant. Charlie cleared his throat behind me and my heart dropped. I turned slowly and saw the note in his hand.

"Give me it!" I yelled, jumping for the note. Charlie just smiled smugly at my weak attempts to get the note.

"What? Can't you reach it, Bells?" he asked, jokingly, raising his arm higher.

"Dad, please!" I begged. I finally got the note and I turned around so that I could read it.

_**One blue—an impossibility; one orange—my fascination; six yellow with red tips—falling in love, fast; three peach—my gratitude; four light pink—my admiration and one dark red—how beautiful you are without trying. -E **_

I smiled at the note and was pulled out of my little world by Charlie clearing his throat. I looked up at him and saw him looking at me with a serious look on his face.

"Bella, is there something going on with you and that flower guy? You know that you can't be selfish and you have to get Riley's opinion on him before you just start getting serious with him." Charlie said. I saw that he was deadly serious and I busted out laughing. Charlie was confused and it took me a while to recover from my laughing fit.

"Embry?" I giggled, I just couldn't hold it in. "Why would you think that?"

"The note that came with the flowers was signed with an E. Embry starts with an E, does it not?"

"It does but he just delivers the flowers, dad. There's nothing going on between me and Embry. I promise."

"Then who is getting you bouquet after bouquet of flowers and writing sappy shit like: 'falling in love, fast'? You'd tell me if you were getting involved with someone, right?"

"Of course, Dad. I wouldn't keep something like that away from you or from Riley. A secret admirer is sending me flowers." I told him. I wasn't technically lying since the first note was from a secret admirer. Charlie didn't need to know that Edward was sending me flowers.

"Well, your secret admirer is a smart one. The quickest way to a girl's heart is flowers and a sappy note." Charlie said, shrugging. I smiled and gave Charlie a hug, going upstairs to get Riley.

"Riles?" I called to him. He came out of his room.

"I dressed for Mommy Riley day, Momma." Riley said, proudly. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at how cute he was. He'd put on sweatpants and a striped navy and yellow shirt but he put it on backwards. Then, over top of it, he put a red and white short sleeved shirt. Then, he'd found two different shoes and put them on his feet and he'd gotten a hat from his closet and shoved it on his head.

"Can we get a picture before we get ready to go?" I asked him. He nodded and I called Charlie. My dad didn't even try and hold back his laughter. Riley, being the smart little boy that he is, went over to his Grandpa and held his arms up. Charlie lifted him into his arms and kissed Riley's cheek. Riley patted Charlie's cheeks and then, pulled on his mustache.

"Don't laugh at me!" he said, sternly, letting go of Charlie's mustache. Charlie set him down and Riley ran back to me.

"Bella, you need to teach that boy discipline." Charlie said, trying to hide a smile.

"Riley, even though he asked for it, you shouldn't have hurt Grandpa, okay?"

"Okay, mommy. I love you." He said, kissing my cheek. Damn, my boy was smart. I retrieved my phone from my room and gave it to Charlie so that he could take the picture. He snapped a few of them before giving us both a kiss and leaving for work.

"So, Riles, what do you wanna do today?" I asked him.

"I wanna paint," He told me. "And I wanna eat pizza." I nodded and brought him into his room. I laid out better clothes and told him to change before going into my room and changing. I decided that I would take Riley out to paint pottery and then we'd go to Pizza Hut. I put on jeans and a short sleeve shirt before seeing how Riley was doing. I walked into his room and saw him struggling to get his shirt on. I kneeled down next to him on the floor and helped him get dressed. Then, we brushed our teeth and headed out.

**[(o,o)]**

"What do you wanna paint, bud?" I asked Riley. We had made it to the pottery studio and Riley and I were now looking at the different things that we could paint.

"Puppy!" he squealed when he saw the puppy piggy bank. I smiled, knowing how much he loved puppies. I reached up and plucked the piggy bank—well, I guess technically it was a puppy bank—from the shelf, handing it to Riley. I picked up a flower piece, smiling as I did so. I helped Riley pick out the colors he wanted for his puppy.

Riley dragged me to one of the tables and we sat down and started painting. I kept looking up at Riley and watched as he stuck his tongue out in concentration. He painted the puppy blue with white spots.

"You watching me 'gain momma." He said, glancing at me. I bit my lip and turned back to my flower.

"Sorry, sorry." I muttered. I painted my flower yellow and lavender, to represent my first two vases of flowers. I peeked up at Riley again. "Hey, Ri?"

"Yes, mommy?" he said, looking up at me. I had made Mommy and Riley day for a reason and that was to talk to Riley about his dad. It was time to start talking.

"I wanted to talk to you… about your dad." I started, slowly. He looked up at me, confused.

"Daddy? I no gotsta dad." He stated. I shook my head, and decided to continue.

"Riley, I want to talk about why you don't have a Daddy." I said. "You can keep working on your pottery while we talk, if you want." Riley nodded and kept on painting his puppy.

"Okay, so, when Mommy was in college, Aunt Alice wanted me to go to a party with her. She had come to visit me to make sure that I was okay. I met your daddy and we made you. When I found out that you were growing in my tummy, I toldtried to tell your dad about you. He was about to graduate and he had a lot planned for when he graduated. I told tried to tell him that you were his baby and that he needed to help me take care of you.

"He didn't listen to me. So, the next day, I went to tell him again but he wasn't home. His brother told me…" I paused, editing out what he actually said so that it didn't hurt Riley's feelings. "He told me that I had to decide what to do with you. He said that I could keep you if I wanted to but your daddy wouldn't be able to help. I couldn't give you up, buddy. I loved you, ever since I found out that you were in my tummy." Riley looked up at me and I could see the tears in his eyes.

"Daddy no want me?" he asked me. His voice cracked halfway through the question and the tears started to fall. I couldn't deal with the crying. I reached over and grabbed Riley by the armpits and lifted him into my lap.

"Oh, baby." I whispered, holding his head to my chest. "I'm sure that your daddy regrets leaving me with you and not helping. And, you know what?" I asked. I made him look up at me and I wiped the tears off of his cheeks. My heart was breaking and I knew that I was going to start crying, soon.

"What?"

"I never, _ever_, regret anything that happened. I don't regret having you and I don't regret making you. I just want you to know that."

"Whats regret?"

"Taking stuff back, Riley. I'd never take it back or want to do it over. I love you more than I've ever loved anything, ever."

"Even more than minty ice cream?" he whispered. I smiled, remembering when he'd said that in the kitchen. I wiped his tears with the front of my hand and choked out a laugh, squeezing my baby boy to my chest.

"Even more than minty ice cream." I promised, again.

**[(o,o)]**

Once we had finished crying and painting our pottery, we handed our things to the clerk who promised that she would put them in the kiln and mail them to us by the beginning of next week. I had to explain to Riley why we couldn't take them home and I promised him that they'd be even prettier when we got them back. Riley clung to me as we walked into Pizza Hut. He sat across from me, finally smiling again when the waitress brought out his pizza. Riley loved Hawaiian pizza and when he saw the waitress carrying it out on a tray, his eyes brightened and he smiled.

I sighed in relief when I saw the smile. When my little boy smiled, it made my heart sing. Ever since I'd told him about his dad, he was unhappy and I was scared that I talked to him too early. I knew that he didn't really understand right now, but I would make him understand when he got older. I'd even help him look for his dad if he wanted to find him.

When we got home, Riley was in cuddle mood again. We watched Cars today and when it was over, Riley surprised me by lunging at me and trying to start a tickle fight. I laughed and instantly turned the tides on him so that I was tickling his stomach. Charlie walked in the door when we were in the middle of our tickle war.

"Grandpa Charlie! Help!" Riley said, out of breath, as I continued to tickle him.

"I'll help you, buddy!" Charlie said, running into the living room after hanging up his gun belt.

"Not fair! It's two against one." I screamed as Charlie grabbed me around the waist, tickling my sides and pulling me away from Riley.

"Get her Gramps!" Riley giggled, running over to help him tickle me. I laughed and kicked my legs, trying to get Charlie to let me go.

"Fine! I surrender, I surrender." I shouted. Charlie finally released me and I fell onto the couch, gasping for breath. Riley and Charlie high fived and then, Riley whispered something into Charlie's ear. I closed my eyes for a while, trying to get my breath back, and when I opened them, I almost had a heart attack. Charlie and Riley were leaning over me and Charlie had put a clown mask on.

"Boo!" they shouted. Even though I'd had a few seconds to understand that it was them, the shout still scared me and that time, I jumped a mile.

"God damn it, dad!" I yelled, yanking the clown mask off of his face. I looked at Riley and he was looking at me with his hands over his mouth.

"Grandpa," he whispered. "Mommy said a bad word." I could see my dad fighting a smile.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" he asked Riley, quietly, after kneeling down next to him. I could tell that he was trying to make it seem like I wouldn't be able to hear him. Riley nodded quietly. Charlie stood up and walked over to me.

"Isabella, would you please step into the hallway for me?" he asked, seriously. He winked and I went along with it. I stood up, hung my head, and walked out into the hallway. Charlie followed me out. "Isabella Marie, saying that in front of Riley was unacceptable. I want you to go back in there and apologize to him for saying those terrible, _terrible_, words that you just said." Then, he whispered, "I give him two minutes." He whispered.

"Okay, daddy." I said in shame. "Twenty dollars that it's less than one." I whispered back. Charlie nodded his head and I walked back into the living room where Riley was sitting on the couch with his hands in his lap, looking disappointed. "Riley," I said, super seriously. "I'm sorry that I said those words. I really shouldn't have said them and I'm really really sorry. Do you forgive me?"

"I don't know, Mommy. Those are really bad words."

"Please, Riley? I promise not to say them around you again until you're fourteen."

"Okay, Mommy. I forgive you." He said. I reached out and gave him a hug, winking at Charlie behind his back. _Pay up_. I mouthed to him. He rolled his eyes and stomped upstairs. That night, Riley slept with me again. Before falling asleep, I kissed my baby boy's head. I realized that Riley wasn't going to be this little forever and I needed to do things like this with him more often. Mommy and Riley day would become a permanent thing from now on because Riley would only be four once and I'd only have this time with him for a little while longer. Sooner or later, he was going to grow up and not want to cuddle with me at night and not want to have tickle fights on the couch. He would want to go out with his friends or his girlfriend rather than going out with me and that would hurt. I pulled Riley closer to me, savoring the time we had together, and fell asleep.

* * *

**Now you know a bit about what happened with Bella and Riley's father. Maybe he'll appear soon, who knows? Review :)**


	6. Girls Night Out

**Bella's gonna go have some fun with her friends in this chapter! I hope that you enjoy it! Thanks to Mandi-moo for helping me with this, and all the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Wait, you said God damn in front of your four-year-old son?" Rosalie asked. I nodded and she and Alice busted out laughing.

"And Charlie took you in the hallway and lectured you?" Alice giggled. I nodded again.

"And, I got twenty bucks," I smiled, waving the twenty around. "Which means I get two extra shots." It was Saturday and Rose and Alice had taken me out to the club. Charlie was going to babysit Riley so that we could get drunk and have a good girl's night. Before I'd left, Charlie had warned me that I better not come back pregnant again which meant that, unfortunately, I wouldn't be getting laid tonight. I didn't even want to risk getting pregnant. Growing a child inside of you is a beautiful but scarring thing.

"Well, that means, since you're rich, you get to buy the next round." Alice told me, smirking. I shook my head and sighed, getting up and going to the bar. Rose and Alice had straightened my hair and done my make-up before we'd left. Alice had brought me a short, tight pink skirt and a tight white shirt. I'd worn a hot pink bra and pantie set underneath and high heels that made my legs look a mile long. Alice had done it on purpose; she wanted me to get some attention from the male population. To be honest, I wanted some attention from the male population, too.

I went to the bar and leaned over, resting my arms on the surface. I knew that the bartender could see right down my shirt and that was kind of the point. I also realized that my skirt was probably riding up in the back and I was flashing my underwear to everyone, but it was girl's night, I could act like a slut if I wanted to. I ordered us each a beer and went back to the table with the beers in my hand. I passed them out and sat back down.

"Girl, did I tell you at home that you look sexy?" Rose asked. I shook my head and took a sip of my beer. "Well, you do and some guy is gonna get lucky tonight." I rolled my eyes and leaned onto the table. _Not likely._ I thought to myself before taking another swig of beer.

**[(o,o)]**

Rose, Alice and I talked, drank and laughed for hours. At twelve thirty, we got up and started to dance. Alice, Rose, and I all danced together. I didn't want the boys thinking that those two were available. I got to dance with my fair share of guys, though, which did a lot for my self-confidence. Whenever I wasn't dancing with someone, Rose or Alice would find someone for me to dance with. By the time I went back to the table, I'd had more than ten dicks grinding on my ass and I was in dire need of another drink.

Around one thirty, I was good and drunk and the club was still open for another hour and a half. While Rose, Alice and I were at a table, drinking another beer, I caught someone's eye from across the room. He had black hair and shiny green eyes. The eyes were the things that got me. They reminded me of Edward's eyes, even though they were a darker green than Edward's. He stared at me from across the room and I stared right back. He didn't look away from my eyes and, eventually, started walking towards me. I smoothed down my hair and my clothes, making sure I looked okay.

He sauntered up to our table and Alice nudged me, pushing me out of the booth. Of course, with Ali's great timing, she pushed me out just as he reached our table. He caught me.

"Whoa, there." He said, straightening me up. He stood me up straight and I tilted my head up to look at him.

"Sorry. My friend pushed me."

"Do you see me complaining?" he asked. I smiled and shook my head. "I'm Marcus."

"Bella."

"Well, Bella, would you like to dance?" he asked me, motioning towards the dance floor. I nodded and then turned to Alice and Rose, making sure that they saw where I was going. He pulled me onto the dance floor and held my waist. My drunken side took over and I started grinding against him. He dragged his hands from my waist to my stomach. Then, his hands drifted up further until they were on the side of my boobs. It was a really awkward position since his hands were pretty much hooked under my armpits. He turned me around and I straddled one of his legs and grinded on it.

His hands traveled back down my body and to my ass. He slid his hands over the curve of my butt and down the back of my thighs. He lifted me off the floor and I wrapped my legs around him. He brushed the hair out of my face with his hand and moved his hand across my cheek. Marcus moved his face closer to mine and our breath was mingling but our lips weren't touching.

Marcus's breath smelt like Sam Adams and when our lips finally touched, I could feel myself losing control. I twisted my fingers into his dark locks and kissed him deeper. The music was still playing and he continued to dance with me in his arms. Things got hotter and hotter and all I wanted to do was leave. I wanted him and I felt that familiar throbbing. Soon, Marcus's lips were next to my ear. His hot breath made me shiver.

"Want to get out of here?" I don't know how I heard him over the music but I did, and I froze, regaining control. It was one thing for me to want it but it was a wholly different thing for us both to want it.

"I… can't."

"Why not? I won't hurt you, I promise."

"No, I literally can't. My dad said that I wasn't allowed."

"Your dad? How old are you? Can't you make your own decisions?" I could tell that he thought I was still a teenager. What grown woman needs her dad's permission on whether or not she can get laid?

"I'm twenty eight but that's not the point. I'm not allowed to go home with anyone because I don't want to get pregnant."

"Whoa there, beautiful. I use a condom every time."

"No, I have to go home to my son tonight."

"Oh." He set me down and I stood in front of him. He just looked at me and moved my brown hair out of my face. "Well, can I maybe, like, have your number or something?" he asked. I nodded my head and he pulled out his phone. I typed in my number, kissed him once more, and went back to Alice and Rosalie.

"Wow, slut!" Rosalie shouted when I got closer. I rolled my eyes, bowed, and squeezed in next to Alice.

"How was your dance?" Alice asked, winking at me.

"It was… amazing." I told them, honestly. "His eyes… they're green. Same as… Riley's and… Edward's." Then, I went on a drunken rant about Edward's eyes and how they were different from Marcus's eyes and Riley's eyes. Rose and Alice listened intently to me, probably too drunk to comprehend what I was saying.

**[(o,o)]**

We arrived home at three thirty. By home, I mean Rose and Emmett's home. As far as I know, Alice, Rose, and I all went into the guest bedroom and talked until almost six before we finally crashed. When I woke up the next morning, I had a pounding headache. I rolled over and Rosalie started snoring. I shoved my hands over my ears.

"Fuck you, Rose!" I said, shoving her and waking her up. She blinked rapidly and shielded her eyes from the sun streaming into the room. She made a weird noise and shoved her head under a pillow.

"Ow. Bella, my head hurts! Remind me to never drink again." She moaned. Her moan was quiet enough that it wouldn't bother my head but loud enough to get her point across. Not more than five seconds later, Alice made a noise that sounded like a starving cat. Rose and I both picked up pillows and chucked them at her.

"The hell?" Alice shouted, causing Rosalie and I to curl into the fetal position and hold our heads. I looked up to see Alice smirking at us. "Bad hangover?" she asked me. I nodded and Alice just laughed.

"Shut up. Don't pretend like you aren't hung over too, okay?" I complained, reaching for my sunglasses which I'd placed on the side table before the club yesterday to block out all of the light coming in through the window.

"I'm actually great. I didn't drink as much as you guys did. I was at least four drinks behind you two."

"Who do you think drank the most?" Rosalie asked. We all looked at each other for a minute before deciding.

"Bella." They both said in unison, just as I pointed to myself.

"Wow, the single mother really lets loose. I wonder what Riley would think about that." Alice teased.

"I wonder what Riley would think if he found out that his mommy was two minutes away from fucking a random and was dry humping him on the dance floor." Rose said, pretending to imitate me.

"Shut up!" I groaned, shoving her again. "We weren't dry humping, alright? We were dancing."

"How many other people dance like they're close to fucking each other on the dance floor?" Alice asked. Then she paused and I raised my eyebrow. "Actually, on second thought, don't answer that."

Just then, there was a loud knock on the door that left Rosalie and I groaning and moaning as if we were having the worst period cramps in the entire world. The door opened and Emmett was standing there with a big smile.

"Rise and shine girls!" he boomed, walking into the room.

"Would you shut the fuck up?" I said to him. "Don't fucking mess with me when I have a pounding headache. I had a long night and the absolute _last _thing I need is to be yelled at by some big ass lunatic. I'm sure your wife would agree with me so don't go looking for her sympathy."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sorry bitchy Bella. I just wanted to bring you guys some eggs and tater tots so you could try to get rid of your hangovers." He defended himself.

"Emmett, oh my god, please give me food. Please. I'm starving! I'll never bitch at you when I have a hangover again unless it's completely necessary." I said, rashly. I knew that greasy food would help with my hangover and I was desperate to be done with it; partly because it was annoying and partly because I wanted to get home to my baby boy.

"Slow down there, Bells." He laughed. "The food's in the kitchen. Go help yourself." I literally jumped off of the bed and ran to the kitchen, needing to eat my food. As I was about to round the corner to go into the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks. I could've sworn that I'd seen a flash of bronze hair.

**[(o,o)]**

**EPOV**

"Hey brother," I said, when I answered the phone. I'd been sitting on my couch, trying to decide what flower arrangement I should send Bella next, when the phone rang.

"Hey, Eddie boy. Wanna come over and have a beer? Maybe play XBOX?" Emmett said, knowing that I wouldn't be able to resist.

"Sure, buddy, but Rose doesn't really like me and I don't want to deal with her bitching."

"Nah, Rose went out for a girl's night at the club." Emmett said. I couldn't tell whether or not he was happy that Rosalie went out.

"Who'd she go with?"

"Alice and Bella. Apparently, Bella cancelled on them in the middle of the week because Riley became all clingy and when that happens, it's usually because someone said something about his dad."

"What's wrong with his dad?"

"I don't really know. That's something that Bella's kept very quiet. I don't think her dad even knows. I think that she felt bad for Riley; like she failed him or something. All I know is that he's not in the picture which is a real shame. I don't know how anyone can live without Riley in their life. He's the most amazing kid in the entire world and he's so smart and he protects Bella with every fiber of his being. He really loves her, Eddie. She's an amazing mom to him and she loves him so much." Emmett paused, most likely drifting off into memories—ones that I would never know. "So, about that beer…"

"I'll be over soon, man." I laughed. I hung up the phone and drove to Emmett's place. I knocked on the door and it was flung open and I was pulled into a bone crushing hug.

"Hey, bro. I got pizza." Emmett said, pulling me into the apartment. He led me to the family room where he already had the game set up, pizza on the coffee table and a cooler of beer.

"You, Emmett Cullen, are the best big brother in the world." I said, honestly. We plopped onto the couch, where we stayed for the next few hours.

**[(o,o)]**

"Just stay here, Edward. There's no way that you're going to be able to drive home in the state you're in, man. Just stay on the couch."

"Alright, Emmett. If it'll make you feel better, I'll sleep on the couch."

"It really would make me feel better. We didn't see you for seven years; it would kill more than just me if something happened to you."

"Mom, Dad and Alice would be able to deal with it."

"Maybe, but that's not who I was referring to." Emmett said, before turning to the door and leaving me alone in the living room. I sighed, knowing that he was referring to Bella and also knowing that he was most likely wrong. I looked at the clock above the TV and saw that it was only 2:14, relatively early for me to go to sleep. I walked around Emmett's living room, looking at all the pictures that were on the walls. If we're being honest, the only pictures I really paid attention to were the ones with Bella.

There was a picture of Rose and Emmett at their wedding. Bella was a bridesmaid and was in a long purple dress. Her hair was braided on the sides which pulled back into a bun. Bella's dress flared out a little bit more than the other bridesmaids' dresses because Bella's stomach was the largest. My doctoring skills kicked in and she looked about seven months pregnant. Her face was absolutely glowing and she had the biggest smile I'd ever seen on her.

Another picture was Alice, Rose, Bella, and a little boy that I would assume was Riley, at the beach. Bella was wearing a black bikini and black sunglasses and had her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Riley was standing at her legs, hugging them as he looked up warily at Rose and Alice. I looked at all of the images with Bella (there were 24 total) for a long time. I was trying to think of how the situations would be different if I hadn't gone to Dartmouth.

I tried to imagine myself in the situations but I couldn't. The main reason that I couldn't see myself there was Riley. In every picture, Bella looked at Riley like he was her world. She used to look at me like that and that was throwing me off. In seven years, the look that had always been reserved for me was now the look for her son. I knew that it was a look of love and that was the baffling part. Bella and I loved each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, not as mother and son. So why was the look the exact same?

I pondered over that as I got ready for bed and climbed onto the couch. I looked at the clock. 3:24. I pulled the blanket up to my chin and rolled onto my side. Just as I settled in, a noise from front hallway startled me. I heard the door handle jiggling and I could hear girls laughing. _It's just Rose._ I told myself. The door opened and in tumbled three drunken women. None of them saw me on the couch and for that I was thankful.

The gorgeous brunette that had been consuming my every thought was the last to stumble in. She was wearing a hot pink skirt and white shirt. I could see her bra through her white shirt and I could feel my body reacting. Bella stumbled into the family room and flicked on the light, still not seeing me on the couch. If Rose or Alice saw me, they didn't let on.

"This picture is so cute, Rosie." She squealed, pointing to the beach photo. I smiled because that was one of my favorites as well.

"Emmett took that… I think." Rose said before busting out laughing.

"Hey, Bella." Alice called. Bella turned and Alice started doing some kind of dance routine against one of the kitchen stools. Bella blushed and started laughing with Rose and Alice. "Who am I?"

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!" Bella squealed. "I don't want to talk about that."

"Okay, well, let's go to bed… if we can sleep." Rosalie cackled before pulling Bella and Alice towards the guest room. I smiled and watched them go.

I listened to the girls chatting drunkenly for a while before they went to sleep. Then, I made the mistake of letting my mind wander. The next moment, I realized that I was in the doorway of the guest room, watching the love of my life sleeping with her two best friends. I forced myself to stop being a creepy stalker and go back to the couch. Staying on the couch for the rest of the night was the second hardest thing I'd ever done in my life.

**[(o,o)]**

When I woke up the next morning, it was to the smell of eggs and tater tots. I ran to the kitchen where Emmett was cooking.

"Mornin' bro." he said, cheerily. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost two in the afternoon.

"Afternoon," I muttered, stealing a cup of coffee from the counter top.

"I'm gonna go wake the girls." He said, heading towards the back of the apartment. I nodded and listened. I laughed when Bella started bitching him out. Then Emmett mentioned food and a warning bell went off in my head. I knew how Bella got with food—well, used to get with food. I quickly stood up and left the room before she could see me.

Maybe it was just a hunch, but I didn't think that Bella knew I was here. I stood right outside the kitchen and listened to the girls chat and eat their breakfast.

"So, Bella, who _was_ that guy at the club?" Alice asked. My ears instantly perked up.

"Just… some guy. I'd never met him before, you guys know that."

"Yeah but do you like him? Do you wanna see him again? Did you get his number?"

"I don't know! I'm already confused about my feelings right now. We don't have to throw another guy into this scenario."

"Bella, that guy at the club was hot and based on how you two were dancing last night, I think we can assume that he likes you and that you like him."

"You know what happens when you assume Alice? You make an ass out of you and me."

"Very funny, Bella. Seriously though, he was hot. I'm sure Riley would approve of him, too."

"Maybe," Bella whispered. I could picture her looking at the table.

"Bells," Rose said, quietly. "I know why you're so reluctant with this. I understand."

"You don't understand! You might know but you'll _never_ understand!" Bella yelled, suddenly angry.

"Bella,"

"Don't _Bella_ me. You don't understand. He left me. We had a future planned out and then it all went down the drain." This conversation had taken a bad turn and I knew that they were now talking about me. "I loved him, Rose! I loved him more than anything. I loved him unconditionally and, as much as I don't want to, I still do in some ways. He was my best friend, Rose. You will _never_ understand what I went through. Then, on top of that, I'm a single mother and he found out in the worst way possible. Now he's doing the whole flower thing and I go to a club and basically dance-fuck some random person I don't even know!

"If you understand so well, Rose, tell me why this feel s like cheating. He even has a fucking girlfriend and I can't hook up with some random guy at a club because it feels like cheating! I feel like I betrayed Edward last night and, more than that, I feel like I betrayed Riley. My choices that I made in life affect Riley every fucking day. Do you _understand_ how it feels to lie to your son about his own father? Do you _understand_ what it's like to come home to son who's crying because some asshole at daycare told him that you don't love him enough for two parents? Do you fucking _understand_ any of this shit?" Bella shouted. I could picture the tears falling from her eyes and I knew that she'd wipe them with the back of her hand.

"No, Bella. I don't…" Rose said.

"Exactly." Bella whispered. Then, I heard her keys jingling and her heels clicking against the tile of the kitchen. She stalked out of the kitchen and right past me, without noticing me. Then, she was gone and it hurt more than anything. That's when I promised myself that I'd never let Bella feel like that ever again, and I started making my preparations.

* * *

**Oh, Edward. Nothing good ever comes out of eaves dropping! Reviewww :)**


	7. History

**Chapter 7**

**BPOV**

I rushed home as quickly as I could because I missed my little boy. When I arrived, Charlie and Riley were eating lunch in front of the TV and watching Thomas the Tank Engine. I cleared my throat and Riley looked up, running to me as soon as he saw me.

"Mommy!" he yelled. I scooped him into my arms and flinched because of his yelling. Charlie saw and I knew that he was about to mess with me again.

"Buddy, I don't think that Mommy heard you," Charlie told Riley. I shook my head at Charlie, not realizing that Riley thought I was confirming what he'd said.

"I love you Mommy! I missed you!" Riley said loudly into my ear. I flinched again and turned to get some Tylenol with Riley in my arms. When Riley couldn't see, I gave my dad the finger and could hear him laughing behind me. I popped my pills and then went back into the living room.

"How was your night?" Dad asked as I plopped down on the couch with Riley.

"Fun but very, very tiring," I started. "I got into a fight with Rose this morning," Charlie looked concerned.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. I shook my head and motioned towards Riley.

"Maybe later." Charlie nodded in understanding before standing up.

"I'm gonna go grocery shopping," he announced. Riley looked up at Charlie and tightened his grip on me. "Come with me, buddy." Charlie grabbed Riley under his armpits and picked him up.

"Mommy resting?" Riley asked. As soon as Charlie had picked him up, I'd closed my eyes. Soon, I heard their footsteps leave the room and I heard the front door open and close. I stood up and grabbed my phone from the coffee table before retreating to my room and hopping into bed. I pulled the covers up to my chin and fell asleep, dreaming of green eyes.

**[(o,o)]**

I woke up when I heard the doorbell ringing. I really didn't feel like getting up but it could be Charlie and Riley. I ran down the stairs and opened the door, not even bothering to see who it was. Once the door was open, I started pushing it closed.

"Bella, stop, please! I just want to talk," Rosalie begged, sticking her foot between the door and the doorframe, keeping me from pushing it closed.

"I don't want to talk to you!"

"Please, Bella. I'm sorry that I assumed that what you were going through was easy to get over. You're right I don't understand but I want to! Can I please come in?" I sighed and opened the door, letting Rose come in.

"Charlie and Riley are at the grocery store and probably will be back soon. Do you want to go somewhere else to talk or stay here?"

"Let's stay here," she said, sitting on the couch. I sat in the arm chair across from her and started telling her my story.

**[(o,o)]**

"Bella, that's so sad!" Rose said when I finished my story. I nodded, wiping the tears off of my cheeks. Then, the door opened and Riley ran in with grocery bags in his hand.

"Momma! I gotsted chocolate for you," Riley told me, digging through his bag and producing a Hershey bar. "Hi, Aunt Rose," he added, absently.

"Thank, Ri." I said, grabbing the chocolate bar from him. Charlie came into the door way and smiled at Rose. He saw my puffy eyes and I looked at Riley, silently telling him to get Riley out of here so I could talk to Rose. He nodded.

"Riley!" Charlie gasped, "I think I forgot to get you ice cream!" He hung his head and Riley jumped up.

"It's okay Gramps! Just take me back. It'll be okay." Riley tried to soothe him. Charlie smiled and led Riley out the front door and into the cruiser.

"So, it wasn't a one night stand?" Rose asked me. "Alice always makes it sound like you got too drunk and just fucked someone and got knocked up."

"I know. I told her to say that because I didn't want anyone to think that I was pathetic." I whispered.

"Uh, Bells. A one night stand makes you sound even more pathetic."

"Not as pathetic as it would sound if people found out that the two serious relationships I had ended up with the guy leaving me and not coming back."

"Bella, you are a beautiful girl. Okay? You are gorgeous and such a good friend and daughter and mother and I have no doubt that you're good in bed. You just pick the wrong guys," I nodded and put my head in my hands.

"Now do you understand why I have reservations about calling that guy, Marcus?"

"Of course I do but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't take the chance." Rose told me. I nodded and hugged her. "Oh! Esme wanted me to tell you that she has an interview set up for you on Tuesday for the secretary position,"

"Tell her thanks. I really need a good job. I want to buy a house for me and Riley."

"You can tell her yourself at dinner tonight," Rose started before cocking her eyebrow. "Oh, no Isabella! No no no no no! You are not standing us up just because you are afraid to face Edward. He might not even come tonight, alright."

"But Rose, I won't know what to say to him. I won't know what to say to Riley. I just don't know."

"Don't talk to Edward. We'll shield you from him if you want. You know Esme won't let you get hurt, she loves you."

**[(o,o)]**

Rosalie left a little while later and I went upstairs to change for dinner. The doorbell rang again and I sighed, running down the stairs in only my jeans and a skimpy tank top. I opened the door and gasped.

"Edward? What're you doing here?" I honestly wasn't surprised to see him here. He had flowers in his hand and he offered them to me.

"These don't have any special meaning but I thought I should bring you something," he said, shyly. I smiled slightly as I took them from him. Suddenly, I was teleported back to when he broke up with me and I was crushed by grief.

_Everything had been going great for us—or so I thought. Edward and I hadn't seen each other since school started in September and it was now December. We'd talked on the phone a little bit but our schedules were both so packed and the time difference made it hard to talk to each other. I'd gone to the airport to meet him and when he'd landed, I could see him looking for me. I ran into his arms and we kissed for what seemed like a short time but was probably longer._

_I'd missed him so much and I drove him to my house first so that Charlie could say hi and then I took him to his own house. Alice wasn't landing for a few more days so I had Edward all to myself. We'd paid for a hotel in Port Angeles and stayed there by ourselves. We had a very nice week together and we hardly ever emerged from our hotel room. The day before he had to go back, he took me to dinner. That was where he'd dropped the bomb that killed me._

_"Bella," he'd said. "I don't think that we can do this anymore,"_

_"Do what?"_

_"You know, _this_," he'd motioned between us. "It's too difficult for me. I can't do this long distance stuff anymore."_

_"Why?"_

_"Bella, I… I just think that we should see other people."_

_"But we just…" I trailed off thinking of how sex-filled our reunion had been. I felt cheated and I felt cheap and I felt broken. I was full of new insecurities. What had I done wrong? What had I done to deserve this? What had I done to ruin this?_

_"I know and I'm sorry but I wanted to be with you one more time. There are just too many other opportunities elsewhere and I don't want to be tied down to someone back home if I meet someone there. Do you understand?"_

_"Yeah," I'd whispered even though I didn't understand at all. Then, I'd stood up and left the restaurant. Edward called after me but I didn't turn and I just kept going, calling Alice to have her pick me up._

Back in the present, I stared at Edward while holding the flowers. I didn't really know what to do with him here. I didn't want to invite him in but I didn't want Riley seeing him outside.

"Um, can I come inside?" he asked.

"No, you can't. I don't want you in my house."

"Bella, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For everything that happened in freshman year. I lied to you and I'm so sorry." I heard the words but I didn't believe them. I'd seen the flowers and read his notes and I still didn't believe him.

"I've moved on, Edward. If you haven't noticed, I have a kid."

"I have noticed, actually, which is something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Are you going to lecture me on the use of condoms? Because Charlie already did that, alright?"

"I—" he started before we heard Charlie's cruiser sirens blaring as he came down the street. He gave me a panic-stricken look and uttered "I'll see you later," before turning and running to his Volvo. I stared in disbelief as he sped out of my driveway and down the street. I saw Charlie pull in and Riley jumped out of the backseat.

"Was that Edward?" Charlie called to me from in the driveway. I didn't answer because just then, Riley came crashing into me.

"Momma! Gramps got me ice cream and I eated it all and Miss. Sue yellded at Gramps for eating pie!" Sue Clearwater worked at Charlie's favorite diner and they had not-so-secret crushes on each other. Riley hugged me and then ran into the house to warm up. Charlie kissed my cheek as he came in.

"Was that Edward?" he asked again, looking at the flowers that I was still holding in my hand.

"Yeah, he came to apologize and then up and left. I don't know, it was weird. I think he's afraid of you." I said, laughing. Charlie was a tad bit overprotective of me since I was his only child.

"Well, let's get ready for dinner and then head over to the Cullen household. He'll most likely be there and you can talk to him then."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, yet, Dad. I'm scared of him,"

"Why?"

"I'm scared he's going to hurt me again. I'm scared that I'll let him back in and then he'll just go running back to the East Coast,"

"Bells, I wouldn't jump into a relationship with Edward. You've just seen him for the first time in seven years. I'm not sure if it's exactly fair to you or to Riley."

"What about Riley?" Riley asked as he walked back into the front hall. Charlie shook his head and marched upstairs to change for dinner.

"Riley needs to get ready to have dinner at Gamma and Pa Pa's house," I told him. He nodded and ran upstairs to change into nicer clothes.

**[(o,o)]**

When we arrived at Esme's house, Edward's Volvo was parked out front and I sighed. Charlie patted my hand.

"You can do it Bells," he said, trying to reassure me. I slowly got out of the car and helped Riley out. While we walked up to the door, all I could think was that I should've worn a different dress. I was wearing a short black and white dress that had thin straps.

"You look pretty, Mommy," Riley told me, seeing me straightening my dress. I smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Thanks, bud." Riley knocked on the door and we could hear voices inside.

"I'll get it!" Edward called and we heard footsteps. I sucked in my breath but then Esme interrupted.

"No, Edward! I'll get it."

"Mom, I'm right here and you're cooking. Let me do it,"

"Edward," she warned. He started to argue again and then Esme raised her voice. "You broke her heart! For the love of God, would you please give the girl some space!" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Charlie smiling.

"That's the Esme we all know and love." He said, just as she pulled the door open. Edward was nowhere to be seen and, for that, I was thankful. I gave Esme a big hug as we walked in and whispered my thanks. Riley ran into the house and I followed him. He walked into the living room and saw Emmett, Jasper and Edward. While he usually ran in and started playing XBOX with Emmett and Jasper, today he slowly backed out of the room and ran into my arms. I lifted him up and carried him upstairs where Alice and Rose were waiting for me.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Rose asked, seeing Riley.

"Someone else that's scared of Edward," I laughed and Rose scooped Riley out of my arms.

"It's okay, buddy."

"I'm not ascared!" he told us sharply. "I mad at Edward. He hurt Mommy. He made Mommy cry and I no like people that make Mommy sad. Mommy tears hurt Riley's heart." My eyes filled with tears and I pulled Riley out of Rose's arms and to my chest.

"I love you, Riley." I whispered into his hair as I hugged him. I didn't let him out of my arms for the rest of the night. All throughout dinner, I kept Riley close to me. Edward kept glancing at the two of us but we ignored his looks. I talked to Esme about my job interview which was coming up sooner than expected and Riley stuck with me throughout our boring talk. When we were ready to leave, Riley was asleep in my arms.

"Bella, can we please keep Riley for the night?" Esme asked. Rose and Alice nodded, excitedly, behind Esme. I looked down at my angel that was sleeping peacefully in my arms.

"I don't know. Won't he be confused if he wakes up and I'm not here?"

"I think he'll be fine, Bella. You can have him back tomorrow night. He hasn't stayed over in forever!"

"You can have him Tuesday to Wednesday so that I can prepare for my interview."

"Okay! Sounds good, Bells."

"Oh, and Esme?" I asked, leaning closer to her. "I don't know if I feel comfortable with Edward being here with Riley without me. Is there any way that you can make him leave when Riley stays over? He's not exactly…comfortable…with Edward."

"Okay, Edward can stay with us," Rose piped up. Esme and I shot her a look that told her to quiet down. I didn't want to hurt Edward's feelings. Charlie, Riley and I left soon after that and I left Charlie to put Riley to bed while I took a bubble bath. Once I had my bath, I lie down on my bed and fell asleep, hoping that Riley was okay.

* * *

**Are you jealous that Rose knows more about Bella's baby daddy than you do? Don't worry, you'll find out in due time! **

**Review please :)**


	8. Moving Forward

**So, here's chapter 8. I just want to add to all of you that didn't happen to see my notice, the reason that I hadn't updated this story in a long time was that 1) I lost all of my files for this story so I had to rewrite it, 2) I had softball season and so I was at school until six every night and then I got home and had to do homework and didn't have time to do anything else, and then 3) I started a month long cross-country trip with my family and we were (and still are sometimes) in the mountains without cell service or wireless for me to update this story. **

**We get back from our trip on July 13th so the chapters will come more regularly, then. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading and being patient. Special thanks to Amandaa for betaing and all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**EPOV**

"Mom, I need your help," I said, as I walked into the kitchen. My mom was sitting at the table with my dad and they were eating before he had to go to work.

"What is it?"

"How do I repair my friendship and romance with Bella?" My mom's jaw dropped and she stood up angrily.

"Edward Anthony Cullen! You need to leave that poor girl alone. You put her through hell and she's moved on. Stay out of her way. Bella is a part of our family and her son is like a grandson to me. I don't want you doing anything to keep them away. Give her some space for God's sake!"

"I'm… I'm sorry, Mom," I mumbled, properly scolded. I knew that I ruined Bella's life and it's not like I expected her to run back into my arms like nothing ever happened but I didn't expect to return to her being a mother. "Can you just answer a few questions for me? I'm trying to piece things together."

"It depends on what you want to know," my mom said suspiciously.

"He wants to know about Riley." Dad called, pulling on my mom's hand.

"Can't answer that,"

"Why not, Mom? I just want to know about him. How old is he? What's he like? Why does he look like me? Is he mine? If not, who's the dad?"

"I'll tell you what I can," she sighed. "He's not yours, he's only four and you haven't seen Bella in years so it can't be yours. Bella hasn't told anyone who the dad is; at least I don't think she has. Alice might know or maybe Rose but Bella's kept it quiet. I don't want to tell you anything else. I can see that you want to meet him already but Bella's not comfortable with that yet."

"What do you mean she's not comfortable with me meeting her son?"

"I think she's scared to let you back in, Edward," mom said, rubbing my arm. "You hurt her more than you know. When you broke up with her, she took it really hard. She didn't come to Sunday dinner for a solid year. It didn't just hurt her, it hurt all of us. I'm not sure why we're letting you back without any consequence but maybe Bella's silence is punishment enough."

"Edward, just give her some time. When she wants to talk to you, she will," Carlisle said, getting up to put his dishes away. He hugged me and then gave Esme a kiss before leaving for work. I sighed and walked out of the kitchen in search of my sisters.

**[(o,o)]**

"No, Edward! I'm not telling you."

"But you know, right?"

"Of course I know but you don't _deserve_ to know. You hurt her so we don't owe you anything!" Rose snapped with Alice nodding along at her side.

"Please, I just want to know what happened."

"Penis into vagina, that's what, happened." Alice said with a straight face.

"Not that! I want to know who it was. Was it a one night stand or did she love him?"

"No comment."

"Guys, please! Bella won't talk to me and neither will mom and I just want to know."

"Maybe if you stuck around and kept in contact with us then you'd know. It was the talk of the town four years ago. Police Chief's daughter comes home from college, pregnant, and without the baby daddy."

"So he was never in the picture? It was a one night stand!"

"Just because he's not in the picture doesn't mean that it was a one night stand. Bella's mom isn't in the picture but was she the result of a one night stand? No."

"Wait, so Bella married the guy and divorced him before I got here?"

"That's not what we're saying!" Rose sighed. I put my head in my hands.

"This is so fucking confusing!" I yelled, getting worked up.

"What's so confusing about it? Get back in Bella's good graces and then she'll let you know everything. She used to tell you everything that happened in her life. Get back to that and you'll find out everything that you want to know."

**[(o,o)]**

**BPOV**

Tuesday night, I brought Riley over to the Cullens's house. Just as Esme had told me, Edward wasn't there and didn't know that Riley was going to be there. Esme, Rose and Alice had all told me that Edward had been asking about Riley but none of them told him anything. It wasn't really any of his business.

"He'll be fine, Bella." She assured me as I watched Riley playing XBOX by himself in the living room. I nodded and took a sip of my coffee. "Come and talk to me, Bella Marie," Esme said. We took a seat in the kitchen and Esme poured me some more coffee.

"You're not going to meddle in my love life are you?" She laughed and didn't say anything. "You are, aren't you?"

"I'm trying to stay out of it, Bella, I promise. But, Rose and Alice mentioned something to me the other day."

"Oh boy. What did they tell you?"

"Just that you met someone at the club," I groaned and Esme shot me a look.

"I was just dancing and having a little bit of fun. He just wanted to get into my pants, anyways."

"That's not what they said. Bella, I think that you should go for it. You deserve a break and you need to get back out there. I don't know what happened between you and Riley's father but, whatever it was, you need to put it behind you and get back out there. Just think about that."

"I will, Esme. I'm trying to open up to people but it's hard now that Edward's back."

"You don't owe him anything, Bella Marie. Not one thing."

"I know," I whispered. We lapsed into a semi-awkward silence before I broke it by standing up. "I should get back home to Charlie. He wanted me to watch a movie with him, tonight."

"Wow, no baseball?"

"Nope, the Mariners are traveling today and he doesn't give a fuck about the other games that are on," I laughed. I walked into the family room and gave Riley a hug.

"Good luck at your job thingy," he told me, touching my cheek. I kissed his head and then, hugged Esme, before leaving.

**[(o,o)]**

The next morning was stressful to say the least. I woke up at three thirty because I thought Riley was crying for me until I realized that he wasn't even home. Then, I woke up again at five of five because I thought someone was knocking on the door. Finally, I woke up at six fifteen and decided to just get up. I got dressed for my interview and brewed some coffee. I missed my baby boy.

I stood in the family room looking at pictures of me and Riley and the rest of the people that I considered my family. The pictures of my son made me miss him so much more. I had a lot of problems with being away from Riley. Riley was my best accomplishment in the whole world and when he was away from me, I worried. That was the part that I didn't understand.

My mom left me and my dad when I was in fifth grade. Being a mother myself now, I didn't understand how she could just up and leave. I had heart attacks every time I left Riley alone for a minute. I don't know how she could leave and just not come back or keep in contact with me. I could never ever leave Riley, even if his father was in the picture.

I heard Charlie's feet on the steps which brought me out of my thoughts. I checked the clock and saw that it was almost seven o'clock. I'd have to leave soon if I wanted to make my job interview. Charlie came downstairs in his gray t-shirt, plaid pajama pants and slippers.

"Mornin' Bells." He yawned, kissing my forehead.

"Morning dad," I hugged him. "I think I'm going to head out. Have a good day," I called after him as he walked to the kitchen.

"I will, good luck!"

**[(o,o)]**

_1803 S 6__th__ Street, Port Angeles. _I looked around from inside my Toyota until I found the building that I was looking for. The Newton Brothers—one of the biggest businesses around.

"_Bella, I'm sorry but I can't help you. Things are finally going for him; he can't just drop everything and risk losing everything just because you're having a baby. I wish I could help you Bella but I can't. You understand, right?"_

I shook off the bad memories that the name Newton brought up. It couldn't possibly be the same people. I parked my car in the available parking garage and got out, straightening my skirt and making sure that everything was in place. I know it's just a secretary job, but it's a job that I desperately need. I walked into the building and was directed to the seventeenth floor. When I reached the seventeenth floor, I was directed to a meeting room. I sat down at the big table and got out my briefcase. Inside were my resume and a notebook so that I could take any notes that would be necessary.

I sat in the meeting room, calmly until I heard the door open and a familiar voice. My heart stopped and picked up again, faster.

"Hello, my name is Paul Newton and this my brother, Mike, welcome to the Newton Brothers. And you are?" I turned around slowly to face him.

"I believe that you know my name. I'm Isabella Swan, the mother of your baby."

* * *

**Read and Review! To all of you that were wondering when Riley's biological dad was going to make an appearance, here you go! Hope you enjoy!**


	9. A Cry For Help

**Helllllllllo. Here's chapter 9. I know it's evil but I'm going to make you guys wait for Bella. Um, I don't know if there's anything else that I have to say except for thanks to Mandi and all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**EPOV**

"Is this really necessary, Em?" I asked as my brother dragged me into his apartment with Rose. He didn't answer, only grunted and kept pulling.

"Bella doesn't want you near Riley so you get to stay here. Yay for us!" Rose cheered sarcastically. She still didn't like me all too much and it didn't help that I'd hurt her best friend.

"Sorry that you don't get to have sex tonight, Rose. You can blame your best friend for that one!" I snapped at her.

"Stop it, you two!" Emmett grumbled. "This is the way that Bella wants it and I'd rather have Edward stay here for a night than go back to Mom and Dad's house and keep us from seeing Riley and Bella."

"Why doesn't she trust me?" I wondered. Rose looked at me like I was an idiot and Emmett just smiled sadly.

"She trusted you with her heart and you broke it. Why should she trust you with Riley who Bella loves more than anything or anyone in the world? Riley's more important to Bella than her own heart is. That's why she hasn't been with anyone since… never mind."

"Rose, she knows that I'm sorry right?"

"I'm sure she does, Edward, but sometimes, that's not exactly enough." I sighed and stalked off to the guest room.

**[(o,o)]**

When I woke up the next morning, I could hear Rose and Emmett grunting and I slapped the wall with my hand.

"Are you serious? You're fucking in the other room! These aren't very thick walls, you know." I yelled to them. I heard Emmett laugh and then, a minute later, I heard Rose scream out his name. I slapped my hands over my ears and buried my head in my pillow.

When I emerged from my room later that morning, I couldn't look at Rose or my brother. Emmett just laughed and I ducked my head even further.

"You guys scarred me for life," I complained.

"God, calm your man tits. It's not like you were watching us!" Rose snapped.

"How do you know?" Emmett asked, waggling his eyebrows at his wife. She slapped his arm and turned back to the stove to finish up the eggs. The house phone rang and Emmett reached for it. "Hello? Rosie, it's for you." He handed the phone off to Rose.

"Hello?" Rose said, smiling. Her smile slowly faded. "Whoa, Bella. Slow down, slow down. Okay, tell me again."

I watched as Rose started rushing around the kitchen and freaking out. I was instantly worried. Something was definitely wrong with Bella.

"I'll be right there, Bells. Calm down, alright? Deep breaths." Rose tried to soothe. She kissed Emmett on the cheek and rushed out of the house, telling Bella that she'd call her back on her cell phone.

"Oh no you don't! Sit down, Eddie-boy." Emmett said, pulling the back of my shirt so that I collapsed back into the seat.

"Something's wrong with Bella!"

"And she didn't call and ask for your help so you stay here." I sighed and sunk down in the chair.

"You know what? This sucks, it really sucks. Knowing that someone that you care about is in trouble and doesn't want your help really makes you feel like shit." I complained. Emmett rolled his eyes and I knew what he was thinking and it was true. I'd brought this all on myself because I broke up with Bella.

**[(o,o)]**

Later that night, I'd gotten the all-clear from my mom and was allowed to go back home. When I got there, Charlie was still there, picking up Riley.

"…so it's just you and me, buddy!" Charlie told Riley as I walked in. I caught Riley's eye over Charlie's shoulder and he went white as a sheet. He started smacking Charlie's shoulder and crying as if I were some kind of villain.

"Gramps, I want to leave!" Riley cried. Charlie turned and laid eyes on me. He looked torn and he handed Riley off to my dad.

"Hey, Edward. How yah doin'?" Charlie asked, coming over to shake my hand. I shook his hand and then he turned away to go get Riley. There was a time that Charlie would've given me a hug and patted me on the back—a fatherly gesture. But not anymore.

"Gramps, please!" the little boy begged. The more I looked at him, the more of Bella I could see. What I'd mistaken for lips that looked like mine were actually Bella's lips. The green eyes were a different color than my green eyes and his mouth was smaller than my own. The only thing that looked similar at all was our ears but that's not even a big deal.

"We're going, Riley. Edward won't hurt you, buddy."

"He hurt Mommy and made mommy have tears." Riley told Charlie. I wanted to smile and cry at the same time. The little boy was adorable but I hated that fact that I hurt Bella as much as I did.

"Well…" Charlie really didn't have a response to that. I was going to say something to the little boy but I didn't want to break Bella's rule.

"Bye, guys. See yah on Sunday," Charlie called over his shoulder as he left. I waved and my parents said their goodbyes.

"Bye Gamma! Bye Pa Pa!" Riley called over Charlie's shoulder, tears streaming down his face.

**[(o,o)]**

"What happened to Bella?" I asked my mom that night, after my dad had gone to bed. Esme gave me a sharp look. Oh, right. I forgot that she didn't like me knowing anything about my best friend.

"Not sure," she said. "All I know is that she's staying with Rose and Alice in Port Angeles tonight and Charlie has to watch Riley. Why don't you go out with your brothers?"

"And do what? Do you really want me to go to a club with them? You know that the closest club is in Port Angeles, do you want me to cross paths with her?"

"Don't go to Port Angeles. Go into town and eat at the diner with your brothers. I'm sure that you can find something to do with them."

"Mom,"

"Edward, go. I'm done with your complaining. Just go have fun with your brothers." Esme snapped at me, turning to the stairs and heading upstairs. I slid my phone out of my pocket and called Emmett.

"Yup?" Emmett answered.

"Hey, bro. Wanna go out?"

"Like on a date? Eddie-boy, I'm sorry that you don't have a girlfriend but I'm married and most certainly do not agree with incest."

"Shut the fuck up! I meant go get a drink or something. We can invite Jasper, too, if it would make you feel any better."

"Oh, yeah cool, man. I'll call Jazzy. Let's meet at the diner," he offered. _Just like mom said_, I thought.

"Sounds good." I replied. I hung up and grabbed the keys off of the key ring.

**[(o,o)]**

When we arrived at the local diner, I went in and got us seats at the counter. The waitress came and I ordered us three beers. She slid the beers to me across the bar and I gulped mine down, motioning for another one.

Emmett and Jasper came in a little bit later and I was on my third beer. Jasper raised his eyebrow at me and sat down.

"Wow, slow down there, buddy. Don't drink too much or you'll do something that you'll regret." He warned. I nodded my head and drank the rest of that beer.

"Edward, what's wrong?" Jasper asked, looking concerned. I shook my head and motioned for another beer but Jasper stopped me. "Edward, don't. You're going to get drunk and go back to your parents' house and wake them up and it won't end well."

"I want Bella to trust me with her baby."

"Edward, getting hammered won't help prove to Bella that you're better than you were before. It won't make her want to let Riley near you."

"She doesn't know about before, Jasper. We were broken up by then."

"I'm sure she knows, Edward. We were all worried about you and talked about you quite a bit with Charlie at dinner. He might've told her."

"I'm better now. I don't drink like I did back then."

"Eddie," Emmett cut in. "just be careful with how much you drink and you don't have to worry about whether or not Bella knows about your… problem."

"I'm tired of waiting for her. I just want her to come back to me already, I miss her."

"Edward, you caused a lot of damage," Jasper replied. "Give her time and she'll let you back in."

"Yeah, man, these are the consequences of your choices," Emmett said. I felt trapped. I felt like I was being backed into a corner and all the blame was being put on me.

"Stop blaming me for fucking up my life! I know that I screwed up but you don't have to fucking rub it in my face every fucking chance that you get!" I yelled at them, standing up from my seat.

"Calm down, man!" Jasper said.

"No! Leave me alone, I'm going home!" I stormed out of the diner and got into my car, driving back to my parents' house. As I drove down the darkened street, I could see shadows next to my car. Then, one of the shadows inched closer to the road and I swerved a little bit out of the way. I rubbed my eyes with my left hand, making sure that I wasn't seeing anything. Then, a shadow jumped into the road and I jerked the car even further. Then, everything went black.

* * *

**Uh oh. Next up we're back to Bella. Review pleaseeeee :)**


	10. Unfinished Business

**Hey guys. Sorry that this chapter took so long to post. I've been on a constant move this summer. I just got back from 2 weeks in North Carolina and last night I went to the Justin Timberlake/ Jay-Z concert and ugh. But, I'm back and here's the next chapter. **

**Special thanks to my beta Amanda who is making me tie dye cake for my birthday in 4 days :)**

**All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**BPOV**

* * *

_I sat in the meeting room, calmly until I heard the door open and a familiar voice. My heart stopped and picked up again, faster. _

"_Hello, my name is Paul Newton and this my brother, Mike, welcome to the Newton Brothers. And you are?" I turned around slowly to face him. _

"_I believe that you know my name. I'm Isabella Swan, the mother of your baby."_

* * *

"Bella?" he asked, confused and also excited for some unknown reason. "So we meet again," I walked towards him, evenly, and slapped him across the face. Then, like I'd done many times before, I ran.

**[(o,o)]**

I could hear them calling after me but I kept running. I pulled out my phone and dialed Rose's number as I ran.

"Hello?" Emmett answered.

"Em, I need Rose now!"

"Rosie, it's for you." I heard him say as he handed the phone off to her.

"Hello?"

"Rose! I need you! I'm in Port Angeles and he's here and I was in his building and I didn't even know that he still lived around here because he wanted to make it big and I thought he was gone but he's not! He's here."

"Whoa, Bella. Slow down, slow down. Okay, tell me again,"

"So, I walked into the office for my job interview and everything was going fine," I took a deep breath and kept going. "So, I was sitting there and he walked in and I just didn't know what to do and he didn't recognize me from the back so I told him who I was. He looked at me in disbelief and like he couldn't believe that I was standing in front of him and then I slapped him and ran. I just… I need you Rose,"

"I'll be right there, Bells. Calm down, alright? Deep breaths," Rose tried to soothe me. "Okay, I'm leaving right now so I'll call you back on my cell."

"Okay." I whispered as the line went dead. I didn't know where to go—I couldn't go back. I kept running, escaping to the one place that I knew: La Bella Italia. Rose called me back and I told her where I was and told her to bring Alice with her when she came to get me.

When Rose and Alice got there, I'd cleaned myself up a little bit. Alice and Rose both squeezed me when they walked in and we sat down in a booth near the back. I told them what happened and the first thing that Alice said was, "If you want a job, it's probably not a good idea to slap the boss across the face, Bella."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, turning to Rose. I trusted Rose more than Alice in this situation. Rose sighed and put her head in her hands.

"Bella, I think that you should go back and talk to him. It's a little late now so go tomorrow but I think that you owe this to Riley. He deserves to know who his father is and he deserves to meet him. He can't live his life not knowing."

"I know I owe it to Riley but he looked like he had no idea what I was even talking about when I told him that I was the mother of his baby."

"How did that conversation go down, exactly? When you told him?"

"I… I guess I didn't tell him to his face."

"Bella!" Alice and Rose both groaned.

"I know, I know! But I tried to tell him. I kept starting and stopping and by the end of the night I realized that I'd never gotten it out. The next day he was leaving for New York so I tried to catch him that morning. I went to his room but his brother had told me that he'd just left. I asked him to get me in contact with Paul but he said that there was no way that I'd be able to so he'd just pass along the message. Well, actually he said: '_Bella, I'm sorry but I can't help you. Things are finally going for him; he can't just drop everything and risk losing everything just because you're having a baby. I wish I could help you Bella but I can't. You understand, right? I mean, it's your baby; you choose what you want to do with it. He can't help you.'_ but then I got him to agree."

"But you never heard him say it to Paul?" Alice asked.

"No…?"

"Bella, I think that Mike never told Paul. It sounds like he didn't want his brother's life ruined by having to be tied down to someone. As you know, Bells, a baby is a lot of work and a lot of money and Mike probably didn't want his brother to have to give up his future just because of his girlfriend." Alice told me.

"But, Paul would've helped me. He would've, I know it!"

"It doesn't matter what he would've done. The point is he probably doesn't even know that he has a son and he's going to want to meet him." Rose pointed out.

"Okay, I'll tell him. I promise I will but we have to wait for tomorrow."

"Bells, you're a mess. You can't go back home to Riley, you'll worry him. We'll get a hotel room and you'll stay with us and go see Paul first thing in the morning."

**[(o,o)]**

"I'm going to call Riley, I'll be right back." I called, walking out into the hallway. I wanted to warn Riley that I found his father but I didn't want to get his hopes up if Paul decided that he didn't want anything to do with his own son. I dialed my dad's home number and sat on the floor of the hotel hallway as it rang.

"Hello?" Charlie answered.

"Hey, Dad. It's me,"

"Oh, hey Bells. How yah doing? I heard that you found… his dad," Charlie whispered the last part.

"Yeah, I did. I'm gonna go back and talk to him tomorrow but I'd like to talk to Riley."

"Is that the best idea? Riley wants to meet his dad, what if his dad doesn't want to meet him?"

"I wasn't going to tell him yet. I just wanted to say good night and assure him that I'm okay."

"Oh, well then I'll put him on. Be safe, please, Bella. I love you."

"Love you, too, dad." I waited and finally, I heard my angel's voice.

"Momma?"

"Hey, Riles."

"Oh, Momma! I miss you, I miss you, I miss you."

"I miss you, too, baby. How was your day?"

"I pwayed cards with Gamma and I pwayed XBOX. Oh! And I seed Edward today." I was instantly startled.

"You… you saw Edward?"

"Yeah and I cried but Gramps saved me. He even shakeded Edward's hand!"

"Gramps used to be like Edward's daddy, Riley. I think Gramps still thinks of him like that."

"Pa Pa is Edward's daddy, momma. Not Gramps!"

"Well, you know how Gamma and Pa Pa aren't really your Grandma and Grandpa but they act like it? It's the same way with Edward."

"Oh… well, why you not here?"

"Um, Mommy and Aunt Rose and Aunt Alice have to stay in Port Angeles for a day. But, I promise, I'll be home tomorrow night and we can watch Aladdin."

"Why you stay there?"

"Um, I have something that I need to get straightened out and I can't really tell you about it right now. I'll tell you as soon as I can, though, Riles. I want you to be able to know."

"Okay, mommy." He paused for a minute and then continued, "Gramps says bedtime." I frowned because I wanted to talk to my son more.

"Okay, baby. I love you so, so, so, so, so, so, so much and I miss you like crazy, crazy, crazy!"

"Love you too mommy. See you 'morrow."

"Okay, Riles."

"Bye mommy."

"Bye, honey."

**[(o,o)]**

When I got back into the hotel room, I flopped on my bed and cried. I missed my son and my life was all kinds of fucked up. For a second, I wished that Edward had just kept his promise and stuck it out. But then, I realized that I wouldn't have Riley, and that thought killed me more than the memory of losing Edward. I still loved Edward in a way and I would've talked to him already if it weren't for Riley. I really didn't want to confuse him.

Later that night, after all of us had gone to bed, we were awoken by Rose's phone ringing. She rolled over and grunted as she reached for the phone.

"Hello?" she whispered, sleepily. Then, she sat up straight in bed and flipped the lights on—startling me and Alice from sleep. "I'm about an hour away in Port Angeles right now with my sisters but we'll come immediately. Thank you, sir." She hung up the phone and started rushing around the room, getting keys and sneakers.

"What is it, Rose?" Alice asked.

"It's Edward. He's been in an accident."

**[(o,o)]**

"It looks like he had an overwhelming amount of alcohol in his system that was consumed over a short period of time. This would've affected his driving skills and, depending how long it's been since he's been clean, he might've hallucinated. He's been here for a few hours so the alcohol is draining. You should be able to see him as soon as he wakes up." The doctor told us as we walked in. He started walking away but I ran after him.

"Been clean? What does being sober have to do with anything?" I asked the doctor, confused.

"I'm not allowed to share medical history with anyone but immediate family, I'm sorry." He told me. I nodded my head and walked back to where Rose, Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Esme, and Carlisle were sitting. Rose and Alice were getting on Emmett and Jasper for letting Edward consume so much alcohol and then drive. Carlisle was worried because he wasn't allowed to work so he really had no way to check on Edward and Esme was dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

A few moments later, Charlie came running in with a sleepy Riley in his arms.

"Where is he? Is he okay?" Charlie asked, worriedly, running straight for Esme and Carlisle. He put Riley down and Riley ran over to me.

"Momma! I thought you away?"

"I came back to see if Edward was okay. You can sleep Riley, I'll hold you." I whispered into his hair. He snuggled into my arms and I kissed his brown-haired head. Within a few minutes, he was asleep and I could focus on Edward.

"It's been over four years, right? Why would he resort back now?" Charlie was asking when I rejoined the conversation.

"What's been four years?" I asked.

"Nothing, Bella." Charlie snapped. I knew he didn't mean it but he was just worried. Just then, the doctor came around the corner again.

"Edward's awake. Normally I would send family back but he's asking for Isabella," the doctor motioned towards me. I looked around at my family, waiting for their confirmation before I went. Esme nodded at me, dabbing her tears, and I followed the doctor to Edward's room. Edward was lying in the hospital bed with his leg in a cast and the top of his head wrapped. As a result of the crash, he'd bruised his leg and his head was scratched up from broken glass but he was otherwise unharmed.

"Bella," he whispered when he saw me. I smiled at him and walked over to the bed. I still had Riley in my arms and Edward motioned for me to lay him down in the bed.

"Hey, stranger." I replied with a small smile. "We haven't really talked in a while. I've kind of been avoiding you."

"I know but I wanted to explain some things to you, right now. That is, if you have time."

"I have a lot of time but I don't know how long Riley will stay asleep."

"Here," he said, pushing his blankets down a little. "Riley can lie next to me. The hospital blankets are warmed up." I was a bit hesitant at first until Edward said, "I'm not going to hurt him, Bella. He'll be so much more comfortable." I nodded and lifted Riley so that he was next to Edward. Riley sighed and rolled over, snuggling into Edward.

"Are you okay, Edward? You scared us all."

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just… I want to explain to you some things."

"You don't have to do this now. It's fine, I can come back tomorrow."

"No! I want to tell you now. I used to tell you everything, remember? I want to get back to that again. I understand if you don't trust me and I know why you don't want me near Riley, but I won't hurt him."

"I know you won't but that's not what I'm scared of. I'm scared that he'll get attached to you and then you'll leave again—breaking his heart and mine, again."

"I'm staying here for a while. Alice is helping me look for an apartment in Port Angeles because I want to move back here and get to know you again and repair our friendship. But, anyways, back to my story…"

"Edward, not now! Your family wants to see you and make sure you're okay. I'll go get them and come back and then you can tell me once they're gone. Deal?"

"Deal." He whispered.

"Can I leave Ri—"

"Of course you can! You'll be right back anyways and he's sleeping. It'll be fine." He cut me off. I nodded and then walked out of the room, going to get his family.

* * *

**There you have it. Let me know whatcha think! I'll try to be back next week but who knows what RL has in store for me. xoxo**


	11. I'll Take Care Of You

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long. I recently turned 16 so I was busy with that and I'm applying for my first job along with finishing out my summer. Anyways, here's a new chapter for you guys. It's a shorter one but I'll update as soon as I can. I'm shooting for next Friday but we'll see. Thanks, as always, to my wonderful beta Amanda aka my laser tag buddy Jack Bower. **

**All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer even if she doesn't want to live in the Twilight world anymore.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**EPOV**

We were making progress. She, at least, left Riley with me for a short amount of time. While Bella was out getting my family, a nurse had come back in to make sure that I was alright. Her eyes softened when she walked in.

"Aw, Edward, I didn't know that you had a son." she said, brushing Riley's hair off of his forehead. "He's adorable!" I looked down at him and shook my head.

"No, he's my best friend's son. She just left him here while she went to get the others. I hope it's not a big deal."

"Oh, sorry! But, no, it's fine, Edward. Your father wouldn't mind." I nodded and she walked out of the room. When Bella returned with my family, her eyes softened like the nurse's had and when I looked at my mom, she looked like she might explode from happiness, too.

"Why is everyone looking at me like I'm a kicked puppy?" I asked. My mom ran over to me and kissed my head.

"Edward Anthony Cullen! You scared the hell out of me. You never do that ever again!"

"I'm sorry mom. I just really wasn't thinking." I told her. Everyone came in, even Charlie, to make sure that I was okay. When Charlie came in, he'd kicked Bella out so that he could talk to me alone.

"You see this?" he asked, motioning towards where Riley was sleeping under my arm. I nodded and he said, "She's trying to trust you again. Don't blow it this time, son. She loves this little boy with every fiber of her being. Do not let her down and, most importantly, don't let _him_ down." I nodded and Charlie hugged me, walking out and sending Bella back in with whoever was next in line to see me.

**[(o,o)]**

I fell asleep around three in the morning and, when I woke up later, Bella had climbed in on my other side and was asleep under my other arm. It reminded me of when we were younger and had sleepovers in my basement. Bella always told me that she felt so much more comfortable when she was next to someone than when she was alone. She would then proceed to snuggle under my arm and curl up to side and then, she'd fall right asleep. I smiled to myself and closed my eyes, falling back asleep.

**[(o,o)]**

"Momma! Momma, help!" a little voice yelled, waking me up again. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and saw Riley screaming with his eyes closed. "Mommmmmmma!"

Bella shot straight up and got out of the hospital bed—shooting me an apologetic smile—to tend to her son.

"Riley? What's wrong, baby?" she cooed next to his head. My heart swelled. I'd never seen Momma Bear Bella in action and it was so cute. It reminded me of why I fell in love with her—her gentleness.

"Momma," Riley whimpered. "I was ascared cuz I wokeded up and I no see you. I only see scary Edward." Bella looked up at me apologetically and I just smiled.

"Riley, it's okay. I'm right here. I brought you in here last night because Edward got in a car accident and we all had to come here. You're in the hospital and Gramps, Gamma, Pa Pa, Aunt Alice, Uncle Jasper, Aunt Rose, and Uncle Emmett are all here too."

"But Momma, I thought you no gonna come see me cuz you can't tell me." I was confused but recognition flashed across Bella's face.

"Shit! I forgot about that," Bella said, going white as a ghost. I raised my eyebrow at her language and I saw Riley's eyes get big as he turned to look at me. "Edward, do you mind watching him while I go get Charlie. I really need to leave."

"Yeah, no problem. But… I mean, you'll be back right? We never really got to talk last night."

"I'll be back but not until I get everything straightened out. I need to go talk to…" she paused and leaned down next to my ear. "I found Riley's dad by accident yesterday and I need to get things situated with him before he comes looking for me while Riley's there, you know?" she whispered into my ear.

"Oh, well you better go, then. Riley and I will be fine." I told her. She let out a breath and smiled.

"Thanks, Edward. You're the best." She leaned down and kissed my head and then Riley's and was gone. I brought my hand up to touch the spot that she'd kissed. Riley was looking at me wide-eyed.

"Hi, I'm Riley," he said, politely, putting his hand out for me to shake.

"I'm Edward." I said, shaking his hand.

"I know cuz you broke Momma's heart and made mommy tears."

"Yeah, I wanted to apologize to you for that, Riley. I know how much it hurts to see your mom cry. I know it might take a while but I want her to know how sorry I am for that, too."

"Momma kissed you," he said, incredulously.

"I know but she kissed you, too."

"Momma always kisses me. She wuves me." He said, matter-of-factly. "Momma must wuve you too cuz you got kisses. Momma gives Gramps kisses and Gamma and Pa Pa cuz she wuves them, too."

"Well, I'm sure that she loves me, in a way, because we dated once."

"You did?" he asked with big eyes.

"Yup, your mom and I were best friends and then we were boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Did you and mommy get mawwied?"

"No, we didn't get married. I wanted to marry her but she said no because she thought that we were too young."

"But if you are boyfriend and girlfriend and you wuve each other, you get mawwied."

"It doesn't always work that way, bud." I told him. He nodded and looked down at his hands.

"I know cuz I no gotsta Daddy and when a mommy and daddy wuve, they get babies." Then, Riley's eyes brightened and he looked at me excitedly. "Will you mawwy Mommy so that I can have a Daddy?" I was startled by the question.

"Um, I don't know if that'll happen. I want you to have a Daddy, Riley, but your mom gets a say, too. I can't just choose to be your dad; your mom has to agree."

"Oh," he mumbled, looking down at his hands, again. Then, Esme came in and picked up Riley, squeezing him to her chest. "Gamma!" he yelled, hugging her tightly. She looked at me over her shoulder and winked.

"You can go to sleep, if you want, Edward." My mom told me. "I'll watch Riley."

"Nah, I'm not tired," I lied. I looked at the little boy in my mother's arms and my heart swelled. _I promised her,_ I thought to myself. _This time, I won't break my promise. I'll watch over that little boy and love him like he's my own. I owe it to her… I owe it to both of them._

**[(o,o)]**

Bella returned later in the day with puffy eyes and wet cheeks. I didn't know what went on and I was going to ask but she just put her hand up to silence me.

"Don't even ask. Just say what you wanted to say so that I can go home to my baby."

"Bella, if you want to see Riley, we can do this later. He's more important." Her eyes softened again.

"Really?" I nodded. "Thank you so much Edward! How long are you going to be in here? Should I come back here or go to your house?"

"Go to the house. Carlisle said he can make sure that I'm fine there."

"Thank you so much, Edward. You have no idea how much this means to me." She whispered. Then, like she did before, she kissed my forehead and ran out of the room.

**[(o,o)]**

That night, Carlisle and Esme took me home from the hospital. I was under strict orders to move my bruised leg as little as possible. Bella didn't return that night or the next day. I was beginning to doubt whether or not she'd come back. But, eventually she came back on Friday night. I was surprised to see her because as far as I knew, she usually spent Friday nights with Rosalie and Alice.

"Hey, did you get everything situated?" I asked her, upon seeing her enter my bedroom.

"Kinda, it's really, really complicated. I'll tell you about it after your story so go ahead and start." She said, coming over to sit on my bed. I motioned for her to come closer and when she did, I wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her to my side, like old times.

"This might be painful, Bella. We have to go back in time a little bit and I don't want you to freak out at me, okay? Let me get through my story before you argue any of my points or anything, alright?"

"Okay, I promise. Now, start you big oaf," she joked, elbowing my side. So, with Bella at my side, I started my story.

* * *

**Read and review and hopefully I'll be back next week!**


End file.
